Leonid Stein
Leonid Stein | |
---|---|
Full name | Leonid Zakharovich Stein |
Country | Soviet Union |
Born | Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | November 12, 1934
Died | July 4, 1973 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | (aged 38)
Title | Grandmaster |
Peak rating | 2620 (July 1972) |
Leonid Zakharovych Stein (
Early life
Leonid Stein was born in
In both 1955 and 1956, he tied for first place in the individual Army Championship. He achieved the national
Grandmaster and Soviet Champion
Stein tied for third place in the 1961 Soviet Championship, at Moscow, defeating
World title challenge frustrations
With his strong result at the 1961 Soviet Championship, he earned the right to play in the 1962
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 on the Soviet side for the
Stein had already qualified for the 1973
Death
He died of a heart attack at the age of 38 at the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow as he prepared to leave for the European chess championships in Bath, England.[1] At the time of death, he was still considered as one of the main contenders for World Championship. He was buried in Kyiv, in his native Ukraine. His widow and children currently live in US.
Style and legacy
Stein's creative style was greatly influenced by Chigorin 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 openings 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 had plus records against Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, and Paul Keres. Stein defeated many of the top players of his era.
Notable games
- Nikolay Krogius vs Leonid Stein, Ukrainian Championship, Kyiv 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.
See also
References
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
Further reading
- Crouch, Colin (2009). Chess Secrets: Great Attackers: Learn from Kasparov, Tal and Stein. ISBN 978-1-85744-579-4.
- Keene, Raymond (1989). Leonid Stein – Master of Attack. London, Tui Enterprises. ISBN 1-84382-018-8.
- Gufeld (2001). Leonid Stein, Master of risk strategy. Thinkers' Press. ISBN 0-938650-54-8.
External links
- Leonid Stein player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- "Remembering Leonid Stein,", by Dennis Monokroussos, 8/7/05
- "Leonid Stein Obituary", New York Times
- "Leonid Stein: Instinctive Romantic", Jon Manley in Kingpinmagazine.