Advent calendar: December 23

by André Schulz
12/23/2016 – From December 1 to December 24 we invite our readers every day to open a door in our advent calendar. Click and enjoy a little chess treat. Behind door 23 hides one of the best and fastest players in the history of chess. Advent calendar, door 23.

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Fast, faster, Leonid Stein

When Vishy Anand began his rise to the top at the beginning of the 1990s he stunned opponents and public with his incredible speed. He often used only 15 or 20 minutes for the whole game, even against renowned grandmasters. In this respect Anand had a predecessor: the Soviet world class player Leonid Stein who had played with similar speed.

Leonid Zakharovich Stein was born on November 12, 1934, in Kamianets-Podilskyi, a city in Ukraine that in the course of its history was part of Poland, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, Austria-Hungary, Soviet Russia, Nazi-Germany and the Soviet Union.

When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in World War II the six-year old Leonid Stein fled with his family from Kamianets-Podilskyi to Tashkent in Uzbekistan. The family had to live in great poverty and the situation got worse when Leonid Stein's father died. The harsh conditions under which Stein had to live led to a chronic heart disease which later caused his early death.

When he was ten years old Stein learned to play chess and showed great talent. But he soon fell into the habit of always playing very quickly andhe  could not be bothered to ponder a long time about the best move - often enough he found it nevertheless. He kept this habit throughout his career and even when he was a grandmaster and competed with the world's best players Stein often used only 20 minutes or less of his thinking time.

After World War II Stein returned to Ukraine, served in the Soviet army and played in army tournaments. In the Army Championships of 1955 and 1956 he twice shared first.

Leonid Stein (right) in the army

Stein's international breakthrough came in 1961. He shared third place at the USSR Championships and qualified for the Interzonal Tournament 1962 in Stockholm. Here Stein shared sixth to eighth place and had he not been from the Soviet Union he would have qualified for the Candidates. However, at that time Fide stipulated that only a limited number of players from the same country could take part in the Candidates, and therefore Stein, who was the sixth best Soviet player, failed to make it to the Candidates Tournament in Curacao. However, for his performance in the Interzonal the Fide awarded Stein the grandmaster title.

Leonid Stein at the beginning of the 1960s

At the Interzonal Tournament 1964 in Amsterdam Stein suffered the same misfortune he had suffered two years before. He finished fifth in the Interzonal but again could not go to the Candidates - instead  the non-Soviets Borislav Ivkov and Lajos Portisch, who both had finished behind Stein in the tournament, went to the Candidates.

At the Interzonal Tournament in Sousse 1967 Stein again came close to qualifying for the Candidates. However, not Stein but Reshevsky won the three player tie-break Stein, Reshevsky and Vlastimil Hort had to play for a place in the Candidates.

At his peak, in the middle of the 1960s, Stein was one of the best players of the world. He won the USSR Championships three times: 1963, 1965 and 1966. Stein had an even score against Vasily Smyslov, Tigran Petrosian and Mikhail Botvinnik but against Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky and Paul Keres he had a plus score. According to Jeff Sonas' statistics of historical ratings Stein was number three in the world in 1966 and 1967 and had a historical rating of 2759. In Sonas' list of the best players of all time Stein is ranked as number 47.

Leonid Stein with a young Anatoly Karpov

Stein played a large number of bold attacking games and also had a knack to create miniatures. He played his moves fast and mated his opponents quickly. Today, we want to show you two miniatures which lasted only 23 moves (you might want to dare a guess why we chose this number).

 
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Be7?! 10...a6!? 11.Bb3 Qc7 12.Re1 Bd6∞ 11.b3 a6 12.Bb2 0-0 12...b5?! 13.Qf3 Rb8 14.Bd3 Bb7 15.Qh3± Ghizdavu-Padevsky,N/Varna/1973/ Inf 15/201/ 13.Qf3 Qc7 14.Rfe1 b5?! 14...Bd6 15.Qh3 15.Bd3 15.Qxa8? Bb7 16.Qxf8+ Bxf8 17.Bf1 Ng4 15...Bb7 16.Qh3 g6?! 16...Rfe8 17.a4 bxa4 18.Rxa4± 17.a4 bxa4 18.Rxa4 /\ 19.Ne6 fe 20.Qe6 Rf7 21.Bc4+- Nh5? 18...Nd5 19.Nxe6 19.Bxg6 fxg6 19...hxg6 20.Nb5+- 20.Nxe6 Qd7∞ 19...fxe6 20.Qxe6+ Rf7 21.Bxg6 hxg6 22.Qxg6+ Kf8 23.Rg4 Ke8∞ 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Qxe6++- Rf7 21.Bc4 Qf4 22.Qxf7+ Qxf7 23.Rxe7 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Stein,L-Uhlmann,W-1–01967C07October Revolution 5016

 

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 0-0 6.b4 b6 7.Qb3 Bb7 8.a4 c5 9.bxc5 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Bxf3 11.gxf3 bxc5 12.dxc5 Nbd7 13.0-0 Nxc5 14.Qa2 Nfd7 15.Bb2 Rb8 16.f4 e5 17.Nd5 Rxb2 18.Qxb2 exf4 19.Qa2 f3 20.Kh1 Qh4 21.Rg1 Bxa1 22.Rxa1 Ne5 23.Bf1 Ng4 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Bagirov,V-Stein,L-0–11970D94URS-ch3817

 

Leonid Stein died from a heart attack on July 4, 1973, at the age of 38.

Leonid Stein's grave

Photos: Soloscacchi

 


André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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