Leonid Stein

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Leonid Stein (November 12, 1934 – July 4, 1973), Soviet chess player from Ukraine.

Leonid Stein achieved the Master title for chess at the relatively late age of 24. At that age he competed for first time in the USSR Chess Championship and most amazingly tied for 3rd in that event, gaining the Grandmaster title and the right to play in the Interzonal tournament.

Stein’s creative style was greatly influenced by Chigorin and Alekhine. He was a highly intuitive, natural player. He is considered to be a brilliant attacking genius, but played very sound chess, not in the style of Tal, more willing to unforeseeable complications.

He won the USSR Chess Championship three times out of four attempts between 1963 and 1966, as well as two other very difficult tournaments, Moscow 1967 and Moscow 1971. In 1969 he won the first annual International Chess Tournament in Tallinn, Estonia.

He was one of a few players who had an even record against Vassily Smyslov, Tigran Petrosian, and Mikhail Botvinnik. He even had plus records against Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, and Paul Keres. Here is his win against Spassky in Leningrad in 1964 (moves given in Algebraic chess notation):

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. h4 Na5 10. Bb3 c5 11. h5 Nxb3 12. axb3 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 14. hxg6 hxg6 15. Qd3 Qb6 16. Bd2 Rfc8 17. Ra5 a6 18. Rc5 Rxc5 19. dxc5 Qc7 20. Bc3 e5 21. b4 Rd8 22. Qg3 Bb5 23. f4 Qd7 24. Kf2 Bxe2 25. Kxe2 a5 26. Kf2 axb4 27. Bxe5 Bxe5 28. fxe5 Qd4+ 29. Kf3 Qd3+ 30. Kf4 Qd2+ 31. Kg4 Rd4 32. Rf1 Rxe4+ 33. Kh3 Qh6+ 0-1

Stein had already qualified for the 1973 Interzonal tournament to be held in Petropolis, and was a serious contender to win the whole candidates cycle, when he was found dead from a heart attack at the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow. He was only 38, at the top of his career.