Raymond Keene vs Anthony Miles - Hastings 1973-74 1974.01.09

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Raymond Keene vs Anthony Miles
Hastings 1973/74 Hastings ENG round 12 1974.01.09
English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Hedgehog System 1-0

[Event "Hastings 1973/74"]
[Site "Hastings ENG"]
[Date "1974.01.09"]
[EventDate "1973.12.27"]
[Round "12"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Raymond Keene"]
[Black "Anthony Miles"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "97"]

1. Nf3 { Notes by Raymond Keene. } Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7
4. e4 e5 {A line which bears a resemblance to Adorjan's
interesting anti-English system: 1 c4 g6 2 e4 e5!? 3 d4 Nf6 4
dxe5 Nxe4. Unfortunately, the resemblance is only
superficial. Normal would be 4...d6, transposing into the
King's Indian Defence.} 5. Nxe5 Nxe4 6. Nxe4 Bxe5 7. d4 Bg7
8. Bg5 f6 9. Be3 {White now enjoys a permanent space advantage
based on his superior mobility and the general weakness of
Black's kingside.} 9...O-O {9...d5 10 Nc3 dxc4 11 Bxc4 and
Black cannot castle. This highlights a specific defect of the
move 8...f6.} 10. Nc3 d6 {Perhaps the best plan is 10...Nc6
intending to transfer this piece to f5 via e7. The text is
somewhat passive.} 11. g3 Bd7 12. Bg2 Qc8 13. Nd5 Nc6 14. O-O
Rf7 15. Rc1 {Played precisely to discourage Black's next move!
However, his other possibility 15...Bh3 is also unpleasant for
him after 16 Bxh3 Qxh3 17 Nf4 followed by d5, gaining control
of the weak square e6. Once again we can trace this back to
move eight, and it is clear that Black's treatment of the
opening is a failure.} 15...Ne7 16. Nxe7+ Rxe7 17. Qb3 {! A
simple way to win a pawn. If in reply 17...Bc6 18 c5+ Kh8 19
d5 Bd7 20 cxd6; or 17...Rb8 18 c5+ and cxd6.} 17...c6 18. Bf4
{It is now impossible for Black to maintain his sickly d-pawn,
e.g. a) 18...Qc7 19 c5+ b) 18...Re6 19 d5 c) 18...f5 19 d5
with a crushing position; White could even indulge in the
trick 18 ..f5 19 Bxd6 Re6 20 Bf4 Bxd4 21 Bd5 cxd5 22 cxd5
neatly picking up the exchange in mid-board.} 18...Bh3
19. Bxd6 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Re8 21. d5 Qd7 22. Bf4 Re4 {With an
extra pawn and a good position White should win easily, but
Miles, typically, puts up tough resistance in a lost cause.}
23. Rfe1 Rae8 24. Rxe4 Rxe4 25. Rd1 cxd5 26. cxd5 Kh8 27. Rc1
h5 28. Rc7 Qf5 29. d6 Rd4 30. d7 Kh7 31. Rc8 {?! A simpler
technical win would result after 31 d8/Q Qe4+ 32 Qf3 Qxf3+ 33
Kxf3 Rxd8 34 Rxb7. As played White acquires an extra exchange
but still has to play accurately in view of the exposed
position of his king.} 31...Rxf4 32. gxf4 Qxd7 33. Rc1 b6
34. h3 f5 35. Rd1 Qc7 36. Qa4 a5 37. Rd7 Qc5 38. Qd1 Kh6
39. b3 Qb4 40. Qd2 Qe4+ 41. Kh2 Qc6 {Black's 41st move was
sealed and it actually helps White, since the winning plan is
to cO-Ordinate an attack along the sixth rank with play
against Black's g-pawn.} 42. Rd6 Qc5 43. Kg2 Bh8 {'Pass', but
what else?} 44. Qd5 Qb4 45. Qe6 Bf6 {A nice joke. If 46 Qxf6
Black gets a few checks, but the bishop can't run away, so
White takes time to stop the checks on c1.} 46. Rc6 Qxf4
47. Qxf6 Qe4+ 48. Kh2 Qf4+ 49. Kg1 1-0

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Updated: 1 February, 2022
Created: 1 February, 2022