I have put together a "Player Profile" of Moles, containing a photograph of him at the 1966 Irish championship, a list of his major achievements and 12 significant games.
He was a notable expert on the French Defence and authored the seminal work "French Defence Main Line Winawer" (Batsford, 1975). Below is a game (with Moles' own annotations) where he played the white side of the French against another legendary Irish champion.
[Event "Ballyclare Open"]
[Site "Ballyclare/Belfast"]
[Date "1968.09.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Moles, John"]
[Black "Heidenfeld, Wolfgang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[Annotator "Moles"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "1968.08.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "IRL"]
[Source "David McAlister"]
[SourceDate "2009.01.05"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nf3 {A simple line recommended by
Tarrasch. White aims to control the centre with his pieces, not his pawns} c5
6. dxc5 Nc6 7. Bf4 Bxc5 8. Bd3 f6 ({Not} 8... Qb6 9. O-O Qxb2 $2 10. Nb5 $1) ({
nor} 8... O-O 9. Bxh7+) 9. exf6 Qxf6 $2 ({Bad. Black leaves his central black
squares unprotected. Better is} 9... Nxf6 {though after} 10. O-O O-O 11. Qe2 {
White has the easier game}) 10. Bg3 ({Superficial would be} 10. Bg5 Qf7 {and
Black stands well}) 10... Bb4 ({Black feared a possible Nb5. Playable was}
10... a6) ({If} 10... O-O 11. Bh4 {is awkward} ({or White can continue quietly
with} 11. O-O {followed by Qe2 and Rae1 meeting ..Nb6 and ..Bd7 with Ne5 and a
positional bind}) 11... Qf7 $2 12. Bxh7+) 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nce5 (12...
Qxc3 13. Qe2 {did not appeal}) ({Nor} 12... e5 13. c4 ({or} 13. Bb5)) ({Best
was} 12... O-O {when} 13. c4 {retains White's advantage}) 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14.
Qh5+ Nf7 ({If} 14... Ng6 15. Be5 Qf7 16. Bxg6 Qxg6 17. Qxg6+ hxg6 18. Bxg7 Rh7
19. Be5 {with excellent chances - Black's pawns are weak, his bishop is very
bad}) 15. Rfe1 Kf8 $1 {This would also be Black's reply to 15.Bb5+} 16. c4 g6
17. Qe2 Bd7 18. Rab1 b6 19. Qd2 Kg7 20. Re3 Rhf8 21. Rf3 Qd4 {Black must not
allow White control of the diagonal a1-h8} 22. Rf4 Qc5 23. Rh4 {Resourceful
defence has enabled Black to hold his position, but White's advantage - the
two bishops, attacking chances based on Be5+, more space - still persists} d4
24. Re1 Rac8 ({[24.Re1 -] Preventing} 24... e5 {because of} 25. Bxe5+ Nxe5 26.
Qh6+ Kf6 27. Rf4+ Ke6 28. Rfe4) 25. h3 {A waiting move, giving his king a
bolt-hole, just in case} Rc6 $2 {Preparing ..e5 but this is a bad blunder} 26.
Be5+ ({(?) Obviously good was} 26. Be4 Rcc8 27. Bb7 Rcd8 28. Rxd4 {- White was
running short of time}) 26... Nxe5 27. Qh6+ Kf7 28. Rf4+ Ke8 $2 ({After} 28...
Kg8 29. Rxe5 Qe7 {Black has survived. White can try} 30. Rxd4 ({or} 30. Rxf8+
Qxf8 31. Qg5 {with an attack (h4-h5 is hard to meet)}) ({or} 30. Rh4 {
threatening 31.Bxg6})) 29. Rxe5 Qe7 30. Rxf8+ Qxf8 31. Qxh7 Qf6 32. Qxg6+ Qxg6
33. Bxg6+ Ke7 34. Bd3 Kd6 35. f4 Rc8 36. Kf2 Rf8 37. Kf3 {(?)} Bc6+ 38. Be4 {
(?)} Rc8 39. Bxc6 Rxc6 40. g4 Rxc4 {The smoke has cleared. Thanks to White's
time pressure inaccuracies, the result of the rook ending is not altogether
certain} 41. Re2 Rc3+ 42. Kg2 Ra3 43. g5 ({Better was} 43. h4 {- this allows
the black king to get over}) 43... Ra5 ({Much stronger was} 43... Rxa2 {
threatening ..d3. After} 44. Kf2 ({or} 44. Kf3) {Black can still try} 44... d3
{which gives White some anxious moments e.g.} 45. cxd3 Rxe2+ 46. Kxe2 Ke7 47.
h4 Kf7 48. h5 a5 49. Kd2 b5 50. Kc3 a4 51. d4 Kg7 {and if White tries to force
matters by} 52. d5 exd5 53. f5 a3 54. Kb3 b4 55. h6+ {Black wins by} Kh7 $1 {
Thus the king ending would appear to be drawn}) 44. h4 Ke7 45. Kf3 Kf7 46. h5
Rxa2 47. Ke4 Ra4 48. Kd3 a5 49. Rh2 Ra3+ {Black must get his Rook over but
it's too late now} 50. Kxd4 Rg3 51. h6 Kg8 52. h7+ Kh8 53. Ke5 Rg4 54. Kf6
Rxf4+ 55. Kg6 Rd4 56. Rf2 Rd8 57. Kh6 {An interesting, but imperfect game.} 1-0
My thanks to Brian McComb for access to his copy of the 1968 Ballyclare tournament bulletin containing the Moles-Heidenfeld game and notes
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