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Happened Today in the Chess World - Mar 28, 2024

AT THE RADAR

Banco di Roma Tournament, 1976: the tournament winner, GM Anatoly Lein
Photo: "L'Italia Scacchistica" July 1976 - Source: unoscacchista.com

Today, we remember Grandmaster Anatoly Lein, born in Leningrad on March 28, 1931.
Lein was a Soviet engineer devoted to the study of radar. When he moved to the United States via Israel in 1976, he stopped in Rome, Italy, and played the then-important "Banco di Roma" tournament, winning it. Among his important successes were the US Open and the World Open in Philadelphia in 1976.
Lein won the Bronze medal with the US National Team at the 1978 Olympiad.
Lein reached his peak rating of 2545 Elo points in July 1973, but it's estimated that his rating was higher in the sixties, placing him among the first 25 players in the world.
Lein defeated two world champions, Tal and Smyslov, and many other super-strong players: Bronstein, Polugaevsky, Speelman, Stein, Taimanov, Averbakh, and Miles.

Anatoly Lein (2535)-Nigel Davies (2410), New York 1986
White to move