Leonid Stein
Encyclopedia
Leonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine
. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s (1963, 1965, and 1966), and was among the world's top ten players during that era.
.
In both 1955 and 1956, he tied for first place in the individual Army Championship. He achieved the national Master
title for chess at the relatively late age of 24, but, as his Army titles against strong competition attest, he was likely at that strength somewhat earlier. At 24, he competed for the first time in the USSR Chess Championship
at Tbilisi
, 1959. In the following year he won the Ukrainian Championship
at Kiev
, winning it again in 1962. He played board one for the Soviet team at the Helsinki
1961 Student Olympiad, scoring a strong +8, =3, -1, and helping his team to the overall gold medals.
on the way. He won his first Soviet title at Leningrad
1963; he tied with Boris Spassky
and Ratmir Kholmov
in the tournament itself, then won the playoffs. He won again at Tallinn
, 1965, and repeated the next year, 1966, at Tbilisi
. Two outstanding international tournament victories were attained at Moscow 1967 (commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution), and Moscow 1971 (Alekhine
Memorial, equal with Anatoly Karpov
). Further international tournament victories were scored at East Berlin
1962, Sarajevo
1967, Hastings
1967-68, Kecskemét
1968, Tallinn 1969, Pärnu
1971, and Las Palmas
1973. From 1962–1973, Stein was in the top ten players in the world, or just outside that range.
, Petrosian, and Viktor Korchnoi
.
A very similar occurrence was the story of the next Interzonal tournament, in Amsterdam
1964. Stein took fifth place, sufficient for qualification for any non-Soviet player, with an outstanding total of 16½ / 23, but was blocked from advancement. He had finished behind fellow Soviets Mikhail Tal
, Vasily Smyslov
, and Boris Spassky
, who, along with Danish GM Bent Larsen
, had all scored 17 points. He did represent the USSR at the Tel Aviv Olympiad
that year, scoring a fine 10/13, and winning an individual gold medal on the first reserve board. Again, he was in the Soviet side at the Havana Olympiad 1966
, scoring 9/12, winning an individual silver medal on board four. Both times, the Soviet Union won the team gold medals.
Again, in 1967, Stein qualified for the Sousse
Interzonal, scored well, in a tie for 6th-8th places, but had to undergo a further playoff with Samuel Reshevsky
and Vlastimil Hort
, in Los Angeles, which was won by Reshevsky.
He was in the Soviet side for the European team championships at Hamburg
1965 and Kapfenberg
1970, both of which were victorious. He served as an alternate on the Soviet team for the Match of the Century against the Rest of the World team, at Belgrade
1970. He played one game, losing to Larsen.
Stein had already qualified for the 1973 Petropolis
Interzonal, and was considered a potential favorite to win the entire Candidates' cycle. But, as he was preparing to leave with the Soviet side for the European team championship, set for Bath 1973, he collapsed of an apparent heart attack
, and died in the Rossiya Hotel
in Moscow. He was only 38, and was still near the peak of his career.
and Alekhine
. He was a highly intuitive, natural player. He was considered to be a brilliant attacking genius, but nevertheless played very sound chess, being less willing than Tal
to complicate with unforeseeable results. He excelled with Black in sharp variations such as the King's Indian Defence
, the Grünfeld Defence
, and the Sicilian Defence
.
He was one of few players who had an even score against Vasily Smyslov
, Tigran Petrosian
, and Mikhail Botvinnik
. He even had plus records against Mikhail Tal
, Boris Spassky
, and Paul Keres
. Stein defeated virtually all of the top players of his era. His peak Chessmetrics
rating was 2759, in September 1966.
Grandmaster Raymond Keene
wrote a book on his career: Leonid Stein – Master of Attack (London, Tui Enterprises 1989, ISBN 18-4382-018-8).
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s (1963, 1965, and 1966), and was among the world's top ten players during that era.
Early life
Leonid Stein was born in Kamenets-Podolsky. He was a Jewish Ukrainian who served in the Soviet ArmySoviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
.
In both 1955 and 1956, he tied for first place in the individual Army Championship. He achieved the national Master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
title for chess at the relatively late age of 24, but, as his Army titles against strong competition attest, he was likely at that strength somewhat earlier. At 24, he competed for the first time in the USSR Chess Championship
USSR Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
at Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, 1959. In the following year he won the Ukrainian Championship
Ukrainian Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the Ukrainian Chess Championship, including those held when Ukraine was a Soviet republic and those held after Ukraine became independent. Players' names listed in parentheses indicate that the player won the tournament but did not receive the title since he...
at Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, winning it again in 1962. He played board one for the Soviet team at the Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
1961 Student Olympiad, scoring a strong +8, =3, -1, and helping his team to the overall gold medals.
Grandmaster and Soviet Champion
He tied for third place in the 1961 Soviet Championship, at Moscow, defeating Tigran PetrosianTigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
on the way. He won his first Soviet title at Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
1963; he tied with Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
and Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff...
in the tournament itself, then won the playoffs. He won again at Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, 1965, and repeated the next year, 1966, at Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. Two outstanding international tournament victories were attained at Moscow 1967 (commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution), and Moscow 1971 (Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
Memorial, equal with Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
). Further international tournament victories were scored at East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
1962, Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
1967, Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
1967-68, Kecskemét
Kecskemét
Kecskemét is a city in the central part of Hungary. It is the 8th largest city of the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third-largest city, Szeged, 86 kilometres from both of them and almost equal distance from the two...
1968, Tallinn 1969, Pärnu
Pärnu
Pärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...
1971, and Las Palmas
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
1973. From 1962–1973, Stein was in the top ten players in the world, or just outside that range.
World title challenge frustrations
With his strong result at the 1961 Soviet Championship, he earned the right to play in the 1962 Stockholm Interzonal tournament. His play there was excellent, finishing in a tie for 6th-7th places, but he was denied the right to advance to the Candidates' Tournament, because of a FIDE rule then in force which limited the qualifiers from any one country to three (in this case USSR). He had finished behind fellow Soviets Efim GellerEfim Geller
Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
, Petrosian, and Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
.
A very similar occurrence was the story of the next Interzonal tournament, in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
1964. Stein took fifth place, sufficient for qualification for any non-Soviet player, with an outstanding total of 16½ / 23, but was blocked from advancement. He had finished behind fellow Soviets Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
, Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, and Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
, who, along with Danish GM Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
, had all scored 17 points. He did represent the USSR at the Tel Aviv Olympiad
16th Chess Olympiad
The 16th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 2 and November 25, 1964, in Tel Aviv, Israel.-References:* OlimpBase...
that year, scoring a fine 10/13, and winning an individual gold medal on the first reserve board. Again, he was in the Soviet side at the Havana Olympiad 1966
17th Chess Olympiad
The 17th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 23 and November 20, 1966, in Havana, Cuba.-References:* OlimpBase...
, scoring 9/12, winning an individual silver medal on board four. Both times, the Soviet Union won the team gold medals.
Again, in 1967, Stein qualified for the Sousse
Sousse
Sousse is a city in Tunisia. Located 140 km south of the capital Tunis, the city has 173,047 inhabitants . Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in...
Interzonal, scored well, in a tie for 6th-8th places, but had to undergo a further playoff with Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
and Vlastimil Hort
Vlastimil Hort
Vlastimil Hort is a chess Grandmaster of Czech nationality. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the Candidates stage of competition for the world chess championship, but was never able to compete for the actual title.Hort was born in Kladno,...
, in Los Angeles, which was won by Reshevsky.
He was in the Soviet side for the European team championships at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
1965 and Kapfenberg
Kapfenberg
Kapfenberg is a city in Styria, Austria, near Bruck an der Mur. The town's landmark is Burg Oberkapfenberg. Main employer in the city of Kapfenberg was and still is the steel manufacturer Böhler....
1970, both of which were victorious. He served as an alternate on the Soviet team for the Match of the Century against the Rest of the World team, at Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
1970. He played one game, losing to Larsen.
Stein had already qualified for the 1973 Petropolis
Petrópolis
Petrópolis , also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, is a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 65 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro....
Interzonal, and was considered a potential favorite to win the entire Candidates' cycle. But, as he was preparing to leave with the Soviet side for the European team championship, set for Bath 1973, he collapsed of an apparent heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, and died in the Rossiya Hotel
Rossiya Hotel
The Rossiya Hotel was a large hotel built in Moscow from 1964 until 1967 at the order of the Soviet government. Construction used the existing foundations of a cancelled skyscraper project, the Zaryadye Administrative Building, which would have been the eighth of what is now referred to as the...
in Moscow. He was only 38, and was still near the peak of his career.
Style and legacy
Stein's creative style was greatly influenced by ChigorinMikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
and Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
. He was a highly intuitive, natural player. He was considered to be a brilliant attacking genius, but nevertheless played very sound chess, being less willing than Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
to complicate with unforeseeable results. He excelled with Black in sharp variations such as the King's Indian Defence
King's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves:Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6.The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening...
, the Grünfeld Defence
Grünfeld Defence
The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The first instance of this opening is in an 1855 game by Moheschunder Bannerjee, an Indian player who had transitioned from Indian chess rules, playing black against John Cochrane in Calcutta, in May 1855: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4...
, and the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
.
He was one of few players who had an even score against Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
, and Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
. He even had plus records against Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
, Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
, and Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
. Stein defeated virtually all of the top players of his era. His peak Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
rating was 2759, in September 1966.
Grandmaster Raymond Keene
Raymond Keene
Raymond Dennis Keene OBE is an English chess Grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author.p196 He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England to earn a Grandmaster norm, in 1974. In 1976 he became the second...
wrote a book on his career: Leonid Stein – Master of Attack (London, Tui Enterprises 1989, ISBN 18-4382-018-8).
Notable chess games
- Nikolay Krogius vs Leonid Stein, Ukrainian Championship, Kiev 1960, King's Indian Defence, Petrosian Variation (E92), 0-1 Stein was a terror in the King's Indian, and shows it here.
- Leonid Stein vs Tigran Petrosian, USSR Championship, Moscow 1961, French Defence, Winawer Variation (C18), 1-0 Stein takes off the world champion-to-be in devastating fashion.
- Leonid Stein vs Mikhail Tal, USSR Club Championship Team finals, Moscow 1961, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B94), 1-0 Former world champion Tal has to concede defeat in an ultra-sharp game.
- Leonid Stein vs Lajos Portisch, Stockholm Interzonal 1962, Sicilian Defence, Kan Variation (B42), 1-0 Stein unleashes a nasty knight sacrifice to tear open Black's king position.
- Boris Spassky vs Leonid Stein, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1964, Grunfeld Defence (D86), 0-1 Another world champion-to-be meets his match in Leonid Stein.
- Mikhail Botvinnik vs Leonid Stein, Moscow 1965, Ruy Lopez, Delayed Exchange Variation (C85), 0-1 Yet another former world champion may have wished he had stayed home.
- Leonid Stein vs Pal Benko, Caracas 1970, Sicilian Defence, Lasker Variation (B33), 1-0 Black's opening play was daring and was refuted in precise fashion.
- Leonid Stein vs Vasily Smyslov, Moscow 1972, English Opening (A17), 1-0 Smyslov, a master of quiet positional play, has few answers for Stein's tactics.
- Ljubomir Ljubojevic vs Leonid Stein, Las Palmas 1973, Nimzo-Larsen Opening (A01), 0-1 Two skilled tacticians go toe-to-toe, and Stein comes out on top, after slipping in a surprise knight sacrifice in the opening.
External links
- "Remembering Leonid Stein,", by Dennis Monokroussos, 8/7/05