Fifty glorious years

Whatever else you may say about it, the USSR certainly created the greatest national chess-playing machine the world has ever seen or is likely to see. The Soviet Union perceived itself to be regarded as a pariah by the international community. One way to counter this was by winning the World Chess Championship, as it would establish the state’s intellectual credentials.
 
In 1967 a great tournament was held to celebrate the first 50 years of the revolution. The USSR failed to survive the next half century, but the anniversary of that tournament, won by Leonid Stein ahead of such luminaries as Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky and the reigning world champion Tigran Petrosian, is worth marking.
 
Stein-Filip: October Revolution, Moscow 1967; English Opening
 
1 g3 g6 2 Bg2 Bg7 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 0-0 0-0 5 d3 d6 6 c4 c5 7 Nc3 Nc6 8 Rb1 Rb8 9 a3 a6 10 b4 cxb4 11 axb4 b5 12 cxb5 axb5 13 d4 This is the only way for White to fight for the initiative.