(a.k.a. Number 5): SPECTRE’s director of planning, portrayed by Vladek Sheybal in From Russia with Love. Working under Blofeld (an uncredited Anthony Dawson), this sleepy-eyed nemesis plans SPECTRE’s revenge against James Bond (Sean Connery) for killing their operative Dr. No. Kronsteen is introduced as a Czechoslovakian chess master who wins the Venice International Grandmasters Championship over Mac Adams of Canada. Kronsteen plays the white pieces.

Kronsteen considers his plan to steal the Russian Lektor decoding machine and humiliate Bond in the process a foolproof one. Why? Because he’s anticipated every possible countermove. The fact that he treats life like a chess game probably is the cause of his demise. Chess pieces do not carry concealed knives in their shoes, but Morzeny (Walter Gotell) does. Kronsteen is stabbed and poisoned to death after his plan fails miserably on the Orient Express.