Miles beats Karpov in TV final

Tony Miles playing Karpov In November 1983, while London was preparing for the World Championship Candidates Semi-finals, the BBC brought its popular Master Game series to Bath. Unfortunately, the series was never shown on British television because of an industrial dispute. The first issue of the new (but regrettably short-lived) fortnightly magazine, Chess Express reported on the tournament...

From Chess Express, Issue 1, November 25 - December 8 1983

"British grandmaster Tony Miles stunned world champion Anatoly Karpov with a convincing victory in the final of the BBC Master Game.

"Karpov, the clear favourite, especially after his recent win in the powerful Tilburg tournament, lost control in a very complex position arising from Miles' sharp variation of the Caro-Kann Defence. This was the first time that Karpov had failed to win the BBC event.

"In 1977, the same two opponents met in a bitterly contested final. After two draws failed to determine a winner, Karpov eventually emerged victorious in the third game of the play-off. Karpov's return visit to the BBC saw him capture first prize in the World Cup last year, again after a three game final, this time against Boris Spassky. Since each non-decisive result means a replay under a faster time control, Miles played for great complications in the opening game and quickly directed Karpov to the exit.

"The unfortunate side of this triumph is that British viewers may not be able to see the televised programme. Due to an industrial dispute at the time, a West German crew drove in their own equipment to complete the filming and whether it will be broadcast in Britain is still subject to negotiation.

"With a £15,000 prize fund and a point system (£200/win, £75/draw) plus bonuses for televised games, the struggle in Bath was sharper than ever before. With Argentine GM Miguel Quinteros absent at the last moment, the BBC yanked Murray Chandler off a flight to New Zealand to fill the ranks. He joined Karpov, six-time US champion Walter Browne and Commonwealth champion Ian Rogers in Group 1. Group 2 was headed by former candidate Vlastimil Hort, with Tony Miles, GM Guillermo Garcia and young IM Stefan Kindermann of West Germany."

Final Scores

Group 1: Karpov 5/6 Group 2: Miles 4/6
Browne 3 Kindermann 3
Chandler 2½ Garcia 2½
Rogers 1½ Hort 2½
"Now came the crunch . . . the final between Karpov and Miles. The last time they had met in such an encounter was about six years ago. Then the world champion had won after three games, the first two being drawn. The favourite this time, as before, was Karpov fresh from his recent victory in Tilburg, the strongest tournament of the year.

"But the British grandmaster believed he could win, despite the odds of drawing the black pieces."

Anatoly Karpov - Tony Miles
BBC Master Game final - Bath, 1983

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.Bf4 Nd7 8.c3 Qb6 9.b4 e5 10.Bg3 0-0-0 11.Be2 h5 12.0-0 Be4 13.Nd2 Bd5 14.Bxh5 exd4 15.c4 Be6 16.a3 Ne5 17.Re1 d3 18.c5 Qb5 19.Rb1 Bh6 20.a4 Qa6 21.f4 Nc4 22.b5 cxb5 23.Rxb5 Na3 24.Rb2 Nc2 25.Bf3 Bd5 26.Re7 Bf8 27.Bxd5 Rxd5 28.Rbxb7 Bxe7 29.Rxe7 Qc6 30.Rxf7 Rxc5 31.Qg4+ f5 32.Qg7 Re8 33.h4 Ne3 34.Bf2 Rc1+ 35.Kh2 Ng4+ 36.Kg3 Nxf2 37.Nf3 Ne4+ 38.Kh2 d2 39.Nxd2 Nxd2 0-1

The original score sheets of the final (85 KB)
All the games are available from the games archive.
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