Tony Miles: 'It's Only Me': England's First Chess Grandmaster (Batsford Chess Books) (Paperback)

~ Geoff Lawton (Author), Mike Fox (Author), Malcolm Hunt (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the archives of Britain's first grandmaster comes a fascinating and entertaining collection of games, articles, annotations, and reviews. This is the book Tony Miles would have written had he not died so prematurely in 2001, compiled by three of his close friends, and it contains all of his most famous wins, some of his losses, and some hitherto unpublished games from his earlier years. Among the gems that will intrigue chess lovers: a full run-through of the famous match against Karpov with the St. George's opening 1 e4 a6, as well as a much less well-known victory over the then-world champion from a television tournament. Almost all of the games have commentary by Tony, in his own inimitable style. As well as being a great player, Tony Miles's notes prove that he was one of the funniest writers on the game.

About the Author

All three co-authors, from Birmingham, were personal friends of Tony Miles. Mike Fox, is co-author of the best-selling The Complete Chess Addict and The Even More Complete Chess Addict. Malcolm Hunt knew Tony Miles from schoolboy days to the time of his premature death from diabetes in 2001. Geoff Lawton is an International Master.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Batsford; illustrated edition edition (October 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713488093
• ISBN-13: 978-0713488098
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,179 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars requiem for a lost boy, September 11, 2007

By	Gilles Benson (Beauvais, France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tony Miles was (he died a few years ago) a magnificent player and among the strongest players in the world between 1980 and 1990. Although he was best remembered for his swift victories using the black side of the Sicilian dragon at the beginning of his career, he was in fact a player with a liking for strategic games and queenless middlegames; he was overshadowed in England
by the rather less interesting (but extremely strong) player known as Nigel Short who was also his "bête noire" together with Tolya Karpov (i.e. most difficult opponent); a crushing match defeat against Garry Kasparov was also instrumental in leading him to a severe nervous breakdown which seriously impaired his chess level; the book tells the story of this well loved player through his most devoted friends; it gives us the chance to meet a very witty and entertaining player who fell prey to the pettyness and low tactics of some other English players much less talented in chess but surely much better connected to the then reigning powers in chess.