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Tony Miles vs Nick de Firmian
"Nick the Knife" (game of the day Nov-16-2015)
Manila Interzonal (1990), Manila PHI, rd 6, Jul-05
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical. Berlin Variation (E38)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Nov-16-15  nolanryan: I had the same question. i'm guessing the follow-up would be d4, which seems to be annoying
Nov-16-15  nolanryan: my suggestion was referring to 17. i'm also curious why not Bxe5
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: OK, I'll bite. Why didn't white play 23. Bxe5 ?
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: After 23.Bxe5 black plays 23...Qe8 and white has no good continuation. Of course, the Bishop cannot move for discovered check by Knight (24.Bd4 Nxg3+ ), 24.Nxe4 Qxe5 25.Rd1 Nc3 26.Rc1 dxe4 27.Qe3 Nd5 28.Rxc8+ Bxc8 29.Qc1 Bxf5 is also just bad for white, and after 24.Bd3, which seems to be the best for white, black can continue 24...Qxe5 25.0-0 Nd2 winning the Exchange back with extra Pawn and advantage.
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: <why didn't White play 10.dxe6? Or 12.dxe6?> In both cases after Bxe6 black has very nice compensation for sacced Pawn.
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: If 17.exf6, then 17...Bf5 with intention Rc8 and Bc2 looks quite unpleasant for white.
Nov-16-15  5hrsolver: Energetic attack by DeFirmian.
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  playground player: I was worried about White's uncastled King. Turns out my fears were justified.
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  kevin86: White blocks his only escape...and ends his game quickly!
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Domdaniel: <kevin> -- <ends his game quickly> Quickly? I don't see anything quick about this. Admittedly, 37 moves isn't exactly a marathon -- but they contain one huge elongated 30-move tactical sequence. Fascinating stuff.

Miles sometime played these lines where he consciously gambled with his lack of development to pursue other ends. Here his King gets caught in the crossfire.

Nov-16-15  rozzatu: Phoenix: It's games like these that make chess so fun. Your're right. But it's games like these that make me desperate about chess.
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: <Honza Cervenka: After 23.Bxe5 black plays 23...Qe8 and white has no good continuation.> Maybe, but I'm not yet convinced: 24. Be2 Qxe5 (24...Nxg3 25. Bxg3; 24...Nec3 25. Bxc3) 25. O-O. Now what?
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: <al wazir: <Honza Cervenka: After 23.Bxe5 black plays 23...Qe8 and white has no good continuation.> Maybe, but I'm not yet convinced: 24. Be2 Qxe5 (24...Nxg3 25. Bxg3; 24...Nec3 25. Bxc3) 25. O-O. Now what?>

Try 25...Rc3 26.Qh5 Rxg3 27.hxg3 Nxg3 28.Qxh6 Nxe2+ 29.Kh1 Ng3+ 30.Kg1 Qd4+ 31.Kh2 Nxf1+ 32.Rxf1 Qe5+ etc.

Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: Or if 23.Bxe5 Qe8 24.Be2 Qxe5 25.0-0 Rc3 26.Qg4, then 26...Nxg3 27.hxg3 Rxg3 28.Qh5 Nc3 29.Bf3 g4 30.Rae1 Qd4+ 31.Kh2 Qf4 etc.
Nov-16-15  Ferro: Saber y ganar
Nov-16-15  Ferro: Kramnik: Todos abucheamos la 37.
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: <Honza Cervenka: Try 25...Rc3 26.Qh5 Rxg3 27.hxg3 Nxg3 28.Qxh6 Nxe2+ 29.Kh1 Ng3+ 30.Kg1 Qd4+ 31.Kh2 Nxf1+ 32.Rxf1 Qe5+ etc.> What comes after "etc."? Not 33. Kg1 Bxf5 because of 34. Qxg5+. White threatens f6 and Qg7#. If 33...f6, then 34. Qg6+, and now white gets a lot of checks, maybe a perpetual.
Nov-16-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Richard Taylor: I met Miles once he was very overweight near the end of his life and died quite young.

He played some great games. I thought Black could take on f6 but Bf5 leads to initiative to Black and White's K is in danger. This is an interesting game. With some complications but nothing more than one encounters in many variations of the Najdorf or the Dragon or other complex lines...Nothing to be desperate about as <rozzatu> thinks he should be. It is just another mode of chess. Even the loser wouldn't necessarily feel bad. Not a loss by blunder or anything just through the way the players want to take each other on.

Nov-17-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: <al wazir: <Honza Cervenka: Try 25...Rc3 26.Qh5 Rxg3 27.hxg3 Nxg3 28.Qxh6 Nxe2+ 29.Kh1 Ng3+ 30.Kg1 Qd4+ 31.Kh2 Nxf1+ 32.Rxf1 Qe5+ etc.> What comes after "etc."? Not 33. Kg1 Bxf5 because of 34. Qxg5+. White threatens f6 and Qg7#. If 33...f6, then 34. Qg6+, and now white gets a lot of checks, maybe a perpetual.>

After 33.Kg1 f6 34.Qg6+ Kf8 35.Qh6+ Ke7 36.Qg7+ Kd6 37.Qf8+ Kc7 38.Rc1+ Kb7 checks are over and black has two minor pieces and Pawn for Rook, not to mention that Pf5 is going to fall. The win is just a matter of technique here, though admittedly not the easiest one, as black King needs some care and protection against checks and other mischief of white major pieces. But how will white continue to resist, let's say, after 39.Rc2 Bxf5 40.Qg7+ Kb6?

Nov-18-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: <Honza Cervenka: After 33.Kg1 f6 34.Qg6+ Kf8 35.Qh6+ Ke7 36.Qg7+ Kd6 37.Qf8+ Kc7> 38. Qa8, black is not out of the woods. The continuation might be 38...Qb6 30. Rc1+ Bc6 31. Qf8, picking up the ♙ on f6. I wonder also whether 25. Qg4 is playable after 25...Rc3. At any rate, your "etc." swept a lot of complications under the rug!

I think white will eventually lose, but to me 23. Bxe5 looks better than 23. Be2, the move played in the game.

Nov-20-15  Howard: That game won a brillancy prize, as I recall.

Defirmian, by the way, had a score of +3 with only about 4-5 rounds to go, so if he had been able to draw all his remaining games, he might have qualified for the Candidates.

But, his luck ran out at that point.

Nov-20-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  thegoodanarchist: Usually I don't like it when the GOTD features a US-born player who was great in the 1980s. The younger generation of US players is much better, and also the best players from the '80s are all European
Nov-20-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: One makes one's own luck.

While de Firmian was indeed 6/9, having already won games against two players who would go on to qualify, he went wrong in strategically inferior positions in both his remaining games as Black for losses in rounds ten and twelve.

Feb-20-16  morfishine: "Defirmian's Immortal"

Nahhhh, doesn't sound right

*****

Aug-23-16  Octavia: I saw Miles at the Erewan Olympiad. An engl official told me that he had no business to be there! He had to play for Afghanistan for his keep. I thought here is this official who knows as little about chess as I & there was poor Miles who should have been honoured & made a fuss off by his federation. strange world.
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