30 Facts About Salo Flohr

Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer.

Salo Flohr was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950.

Salo Flohr was born in a Jewish family in Horodenka in what was then Galicia, Austria-Hungary.

Salo Flohr settled in Prague, gradually acquiring a reputation as a skilled chess player by playing for stakes in the city's many cafes.

Salo Flohr won the Kautsky Memorial tournaments of 1928 and 1929 which were held in Prague, and made his international debut at the Rohitsch-Sauerbrunn tournament in Slovenia, where he finished second to Akiba Rubinstein in the latter's final success.

Salo Flohr had taken a job as a chess journalist; one of his first assignments was to cover the 1928 Berlin tournament, during which he continued to win money on the side by playing chess.

Salo Flohr's playing ability peaked in the mid-1930s, when he became one of the world's strongest players and a leading contender for the World Championship.

Salo Flohr became champion of Czechoslovakia in 1933 and 1936 and played in many tournaments throughout Europe, generally finishing amongst the top three.

Salo Flohr frequently visited England, regularly playing in the Hastings tournaments of the 1930s.

Salo Flohr won the Margate tournament of 1936 ahead of former World Champion Jose Raul Capablanca.

Salo Flohr became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s.

Salo Flohr's name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne.

Salo Flohr enjoyed a fair amount of success in match play.

Salo Flohr played matches with two of his main rivals for the right to challenge reigning champion Alexander Alekhine.

Salo Flohr tied a 16-game match against Euwe in 1932, and he tied a match against Botvinnik in 1933.

However, with World War II looming, it proved impossible for Salo Flohr to raise the stake money in Czechoslovakia, so the plans were dropped.

The next year, Salo Flohr was one of the eight elite players invited to the great AVRO tournament of November 1938.

Salo Flohr finished last, and this put an end to his chances of a World Championship match with Alekhine.

Salo Flohr remained in the Netherlands in early 1939, playing in several small events.

Salo Flohr was able to recover his form after reaching safety in Moscow.

Salo Flohr became a naturalized Soviet citizen in 1942, and developed his writing career in his new country, contributing articles to Soviet newspapers and magazines including Ogonek.

Salo Flohr withdrew from the 1945 USSR Championship after only three games.

Salo Flohr finished 6th at the 1948 Interzonal in Saltsjobaden, thereby qualifying for the 1950 Candidates Tournament in Budapest.

Salo Flohr did play periodically at high levels, both within the Soviet Union and abroad, with some success, until the late 1960s.

Salo Flohr was awarded the title of International Arbiter in 1963.

Salo Flohr was one of Czechoslovakia's greatest chess players ever and proved virtually invincible at the Olympiads of the 1930s.

Salo Flohr was primarily a strategist who excelled in the endgame.

Salo Flohr favoured the closed game with White, and during the prime of his career, he was especially deadly with the Queen's Gambit, as the game selection shows.

Salo Flohr became a much more cautious player in his post-war games and earned a drawish reputation, with many short draws which were hardly contested.

Salo Flohr was never able to defeat Alekhine head-to-head, losing five games and drawing seven in their 12 encounters.