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Tony Miles vs John Nunn
BCF-ch U18 (1969), Rhyl WLS, Aug-??
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit. Max Lange Attack Long Variation (C55)  ·  1-0

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White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish 11 (minimum 6s/ply)better is 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7 5.O-O c6 6.Ba4 Ng6 7.c3 Be7 ⩲ +0.51 (37 ply)= 0.00 (44 ply)better is 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 a5 6.O-O d6 7.a4 O-O 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 = +0.35 (30 ply)= -0.26 (39 ply)better is 5...Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qh5 9.Nxe4 Be6 = -0.23 (46 ply)= +0.35 (32 ply) 8.fxg7 Rg8 9.Re1+ Be7 10.Bg5 Rxg7 11.Bxe7 Nxe7 12.Qxd4 ⩲ +0.84 (33 ply)= 0.00 (37 ply)better is 9.fxg7 Rg8 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Nxd4 Rd8 13.c3 = +0.12 (36 ply) 9...g6 10.Qf3 O-O 11.Rxe6 fxe6 12.f7+ Kh8 13.Nxe6 Qe7 ⩱ -0.59 (36 ply) ⩲ +0.57 (32 ply) 11...O-O-O 12.g4 Qe5 13.fxg7 Rhg8 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Bh6 d3 = 0.00 (35 ply) ⩲ +1.19 (36 ply) 15...Rxg7 16.Qf3 e5 17.Nf6+ Kd8 18.Nxh7+ Kc8 19.Qf8+ Kd7 = 0.00 (37 ply) ± +1.67 (32 ply) after 16.Bh4 Kf7 17.Nf6 Rxg7 18.Qe2 e5 19.Qxc4+ Kf8 20.f4 Rf7 16...Rxg7 17.Nf6+ Kf7 18.Bh4 Qf5 19.Qg2 Ne5 20.gxf5 Nf3+ ± +1.71 (34 ply)+- +9.36 (36 ply)+- mate-in-6 after 19...Qe4 20.Rxe4+ Ne5 21.Qf5+ Kf7 22.Nh5+ Ke820...Ke7 21.Qxe5+ Kd8 22.Qd5+ Kc8 23.Qxg8+ Qe8 24.Rxe8# +- mate-in-41-0

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer).      [35437 more games annotated by Stockfish]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Apr-29-14  gabriel112000: This is a great game everybody should see this
Apr-29-14  SpiritedReposte: No doubt. Miles was gaining time like a mofo in this one.
Nov-03-14  TheBish: Wow, incredible attacking game! If I didn't know who had played White, I might guess Paul Morphy!
Feb-23-23  Brenin: After failing with discovered checks, that left only 18 Rxe6. Black's best defence seems to be 18 ... Kxg7, though 19 Nh5+ then wins. Black's real mistake was missing 18 ... Rxg7 19 Nh5+ Kg8 20 Nxg7 Kxg7 with a chance of a draw.
Feb-23-23  Brenin: Thank you, <CG>, for another blast from the past, after yesterday's POTD: Miles and Nunn finished in a four-way tie for joint 2nd in this championship, with 8/11, a point behind Clive Cubitt, whose subsequent chess career was rather less spectacular than theirs.
Feb-23-23  goodevans: <Brenin: ... Black's real mistake was missing 18 ... Rxg7 19 Nh5+ Kg8 20 Nxg7 Kxg7 with a chance of a draw.>

18...Rxg7 19.Rae1 is utterly hopeless for Black.

Feb-23-23  King.Arthur.Brazil: After trying some discovered checks with ♘ and no success, I decide to look at 'possible' sacrifice 18.Re6... which give me two good answers immediately, after 18...Kxe6 19. Re1+: A) Kd6 20. Qd5# and B)Kf7 20. Nh5+ Qf6 21. Qxf6 or 20...Qf5 21. Qxf5#. There remains the question, if Black don't capture the ♖?

I lost my time with 19. Nh5+?. The correct side is 19. Ne8+ because 19... Kh7 20. Qh3+ and mate next! But I don't see a good answer to 19...Raxe8 20. Rxg6+ (I love capture enemy's ♕, but I suspect that this time is not enough) Kxg6 21. Qf7...Therefore, the correct move must be 19. R1-e1... and Black has no defense. Maybe, <Brenin> just said it all... lgs

Feb-23-23  King.Arthur.Brazil: Following game line, which I didn't study, Black could answer 20...Ke7. In such case, 21. Qxe5+ Kd8 22. Qe6! Now, to defend the mate from 22. Qd7#, Black must capture the ♙ with 22... Qxg7 or Rxg7.

Either case, the mate comes from other threat: 23. Qe8+ R (or Q) xe8 24. Rxe8#. 21. Rxe5+ seems to complicate unnecessarily.

Feb-23-23  Cheapo by the Dozen: First rule of non-Monday puzzles:

If one CAN sacrifice at e6, then one MUST sacrifice at e6.

(The first rule of Monday puzzles deals with heavy piece sacrifices on the h-file.)

Feb-23-23  jrredfield: 18 Rxe6 was my first impulse but I wasn't a 100% sure. Just got home and too tired to do serous analysis. At least I didn't jump at 18 Nxg8.
Feb-23-23  vajeer: Black can offer more resistance with 18...Ba5. Fun game I played with computer (with White of course!) that point on... 18...Ba5 19. Qd5 Rad8 20. Qxc4 Qxf6 21. Rxc6+ Kxg7 22. Rxf6 Kxf6 23. b4 Bb6 24. a4 d3 25. cxd3 Rge8 26. a5 Bd4 27. Ra2 Re1+ 28. Kg2 Be5 29. Qb5 b6 30. Qc6+ Kf7 31. Qf3+ Kg7 32. Re2 Rxe2 33. Qxe2 Bf6 34. Qe4 Rd4 35. Qb7 Rxg4+ 36. Kf1 Rxb4 37. a6 Ra4 38. Qxa7 Be5 39. Qb7 Bxh2 40. a7 Kf8 41. a8=Q+ Rxa8 42. Qxa8+ Ke7
Feb-23-23  boringplayer: I kept trying to make the sac on e6 work AFTER the discovered check with Nh5. It didn't occur to me to sac on e6 first :(
Feb-23-23  mel gibson: I got it right -
I eventually guessed the same as the text move.
All the possible Knight moves led nowhere.

Stockfish 15 says:

18. Rxe6

(18. Rxe6 (♖e1xe6 ♗b6-a5 ♕f3-d5 ♖a8-d8 ♕d5xc4 ♕g6xf6 ♖e6xc6+ ♔f7xg7 ♖c6xf6 ♔g7xf6 ♕c4-b5 ♗a5-d2 ♖a1-d1 ♗d2-f4 ♖d1-e1 c7-c5 ♕b5xc5 ♖g8-e8 ♖e1xe8 ♖d8xe8 ♕c5-f5+ ♔f6-e7 h2-h4 d4-d3 ♕f5xd3 ♗f4-e5 h4-h5 ♗e5-f6 c2-c3 a7-a5 ♕d3-e4+ ♔e7-f8 ♕e4-f5 ♔f8-e7 ♕f5xa5 ♔e7-f7 a2-a4 ♔f7-g7 ♔g1-g2 ♖e8-f8 ♕a5-b6 ♖f8-f7 a4-a5 ♔g7-h7 ♕b6-e6 ♖f7-c7 ♕e6-f5+ ♔h7-h8 ♕f5xf6+ ♔h8-h7 ♕f6-f5+ ♔h7-h8 ♕f5xg5 ♖c7-g7 ♕g5-d8+ ♔h8-h7 ♕d8-d3+ ♔h7-h8) +9.59/41 446)

score for White +9.59 depth 41.

Feb-23-23  farticchio: the mistake was 16. ... -hxg5
Feb-23-23  erimiro1: Almost forgot the deadly Max Lange. Thank you for bringing this game. 18.R:e6 is simple, but the key idea was, that Bg5 was immune, so 15.-h6 was a waste of time. 16.-h:g5 was the end, but it seems that the position was already hopeless.
Feb-23-23  agb2002: White is one bishop down.

Black threatens Qxf6.

White can expose the black king with 18.Rxe6:

A) 18... Kxe6 19.Re1+

A.1) 19... Kd6 20.Qd5#.

A.2) 19... Kf7 20.Ne8(h5)+ and mate next.

A.3) 19... Ne5 20.Qd5+ Ke7 (20... Kxf6 21.Qxe5+ Kf7 22.Qe7#) 21.Nxg8+ Rxg8 22.Rxe5+ wins decisive material (22... Kf6 23.Re6+).

B) 18... Kxg7 19.Nh5+ wins decisive material.

C) 18... Rxg7 19.Rae1

C.1) 19... Qxc2 20.Nh5+ Kg8 21.Nxg7 wins decisive material (21... Kxg7 22.Qf6+ and mate soon).

C.2) 19... Nd8 20.Re7+ wins (20... Kf8 21.Nh5+ Kg8 22.Re8+ Kh7 23.Nf6+ etc.).

D) 18... Nd8 19.Nxg8+ Kxe6 20.Re1+ Kd6 (20... Kd7 21.Nf6+ Kc8 22.g8=Q wins decisive material) 21.Qf8+ Kd7 (21... Kc6(d5) 22.Ne7+ and 23.Nxg6) 22.Nf6+ Kc8 23.g8=Q wins decisive material.

E) 18... Rae8 19.Rxe8 Rxe8 (19... Qxf6 20.Qxf6+ Kxf6 21.Rxg8 wins decisive material) 20.Nxe8+ Kxe8 21.Qf8+ Kd7 22.g8=Q wins.

F) 18... Rge8 19.Nxe8+ Kxe6 20.Qf5+ Qxf5 21.g8=Q+ (21.gxf5+ Kf7) 21... Qf7 22.Re1+ Ne5 23.Rxe5+ Kxe5 24.Qxf7 wins decisive material.

G) 18... Qxg7 19.Nh5+ Kxe6 20.Nxg7+ Rxg7 21.Qf5+ Ke7 (21... Kd6 22.Qf6+ and 23.Qxg7) 22.Re1+ will win the rook on g7.

Feb-23-23  Brenin: <goodevans: <Brenin: ... Black's real mistake was missing 18 ... Rxg7 19 Nh5+ Kg8 20 Nxg7 Kxg7 with a chance of a draw.> 18...Rxg7 19.Rae1 is utterly hopeless for Black.>

Thank you. This was a typical late-night typo by me: I intended 16 ... Rxg7, as an improvement on 16 ... hxg5. It was well past my bed-time.

Feb-23-23  cocker: Tony Miles was 14 at the time.
Feb-23-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  scormus: As yesterday, the Holmes method enabled me to decide on 18 Rxe6. Although the text reply led to a quick loss, it forced W to find the win. The alternatives would have allowed W to win easily with "elementary" moves.
Feb-23-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  chrisowen: X mad it was I c jot fenk it was spar beg quality it was have Rxe6 abluff frazzle o arch jah it was add gof peg ned Rxe6 etc :)
Feb-23-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  scormus: <Brenin .... I intended 16 ... Rxg7> Easily done, I often make the mistake of trying to solve POTD first thing in the morning, before I'm properly awake.

It looks rather bleak after 16 ... Rxg7, but B should be able to soldier on, for a while at least. The real problem was the loss of tempi (by 15 ... h3 and 16 ... hxg5) in such a sharp line. It was only just out of book at that point.

According to SFv14, 15 ... Rxg7 would have led to a draw, though B would have needed great defensive skills and strong nerves.

Feb-23-23  King.Arthur.Brazil: <vajeer> Your line is plausable. However, I guess that White can significantly improve his power by placing the ♖ in the fight, for example: 29. Qc6+ Kf7 30. Qxc7+ Ke8 31. Rc2 Re7 32. Qc6+ Kf8 33. Qh6+ Ke8 34. Qg6+ Kf8 35. Rc4 Rf7 36. Qh6+ (Ke8 37.Rxd5 Rxd5? 38. Qh8+ takes the ♖) Ke7 39. Qxg5+ Ke8 40. Qg8+ (Rf8 41.Qe6#) Ke7 41. Rc7+ win the ♖ also.
Feb-23-23  saturn2: Black has a piece more. I found 18.Rxe6 and that black cannot retake...Kxe6 19..Re1 Kf7 20.Nh5 1-0
Feb-23-23  Cibator: <Brenin: Miles and Nunn finished in a four-way tie for joint 2nd in this championship, with 8/11, a point behind Clive Cubitt, whose subsequent chess career was rather less spectacular than theirs.>

Both players were 14 at the time (born only two days apart, I've just discovered), while Cubitt was a good three years older - a big difference at that age, not totally offset by the superiority in native talent of the younger two.

Feb-23-23  Brenin: <Cibator>:Yes, it was quite common (and maybe still ls) for really talented juniors to compete in age-groups several years older than those they were entitled to enter.

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