Salo Flohr - Official Challenger, Personal Crisis

Official Challenger, Personal Crisis

Flohr had married in 1935. By 1937, FIDE had nominated him as the official candidate to play Alekhine for the World Championship. However, with World War II looming, it proved impossible for Flohr to raise the stake money in Czechoslovakia, so the plans were dropped. The next year, Flohr was one of the eight elite players invited to the great AVRO tournament of November 1938. He finished last, and this put an end to his chances of a World Championship match with Alekhine. AVRO may have been the only time in chess history when the top eight players in the world contested an important tournament.

While AVRO was a strong tournament and Flohr's last-placed finish was no disgrace, his result may also be explained by his difficult personal circumstances at the time. The German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938 had left Flohr, as a Polish-Ukrainian Jew, in grave personal danger. Flohr remained in the Netherlands in early 1939, playing in several small events. He tied 1st–3rd in Amsterdam KNSB with Max Euwe and László Szabó at 3½/5. He tied 3rd–4th in Amsterdam VARA with 3/5, as Euwe and Salo Landau won. He won Baarn I with 2½/3. Then, he and his family fled, first to Sweden, and then to Moscow with the help of his friend Botvinnik. While in Sweden, he tied 1st–2nd at Gothenburg with Rudolf Spielmann on 10/11.