Notable Games
Leonid Stein
15 celebrated games · 418 in the full archive
◈The games that made the legend
Krogius – Stein · 1960 · 0–1
A King's Indian tour de force with Black: Stein storms the kingside and sacrifices with 20...Ng3+, the kind of attack that made him feared in the opening he loved best.
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Stein – Petrosian · 1961 · 1–0
USSR Championship 1961 — a French Winawer demolition of future World Champion Tigran Petrosian, sealed by 26.Bxe6.
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Stein – Spassky · 1961 · 1–0
USSR Championship 1961 — a Ruy Lopez win over future World Champion Boris Spassky, part of the plus score Stein famously held against him.
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Stein – Tal · 1961 · 1–0
An ultra-sharp Najdorf against Mikhail Tal: the central break 17.Nd5! opens the attack. Stein was one of the very few to hold a plus score over Tal.
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Stein – Portisch · 1962 · 1–0
Stockholm Interzonal 1962 — a Sicilian Kan torn open by the knight sacrifice 19.Nxg7; Lajos Portisch was rarely, if ever, beaten in fewer moves.
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Spassky – Stein · 1964 · 0–1
The Grünfeld that clinched Stein's first Soviet title: a Black win over Boris Spassky in the 1964 playoff for the 1963 USSR Championship.
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Stein – Kortschnoj · 1964 · 1–0
A Scheveningen Sicilian king-hunt against Viktor Korchnoi at the 1964 Moscow Zonal, launched by the piece sacrifice 19.Nf6+.
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Botvinnik – Stein · 1965 · 0–1
A win with Black over former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik in the Ruy Lopez, from the 1965 Trade Union Spartakiad.
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Stein – Birbrager · 1966 · 1–0
A 20-move Caro-Kann king-hunt: Stein let Black's queen gorge on both rooks (12...Qxh1) and mated in the open field — a jewel of a miniature.
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Stein – Keres · 1967 · 1–0
Moscow 1967, one of the strongest tournaments ever held — an Open Ruy Lopez win over Paul Keres, against whom Stein kept a plus score.
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Stein – Furman · 1969 · 1–0
USSR Championship 1969 — a Sicilian Kan sacrifice (11.Nd5) against Semen Furman, later Anatoly Karpov's trainer.
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Stein – Benko · 1970 · 1–0
Caracas 1970 — Pal Benko's daring ...e5 Sicilian refuted in precise, technical fashion.
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Stein – Tal · 1971 · 1–0
USSR Championship 1971 — a mature, positional English against former World Champion Mikhail Tal: initiative without wild risk, Stein's later style.
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Stein – Smyslov · 1972 · 1–0
An English Opening turned violent: h4–h5, Bxh6 and Rxh7 crash through against former World Champion Vasily Smyslov.
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Ljubojevic – Stein · 1973 · 0–1
Las Palmas 1973 — a crisp Black win against Ljubomir Ljubojevic's Nimzo-Larsen, from Leonid Stein's final tournament season before his sudden death at 38.
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