Soviet Citizen, Recovers Form
Flohr was able to recover his form after reaching safety in Moscow. He won Kemeri 1939 with a score of 12/15, also captured the strong 1939 Leningrad/Moscow tournament with 12/17, tied for second at Margate 1939 with 6½/9 behind only Paul Keres, and then tied for second at Bournemouth 1939 with 8½/11, behind only former World Champion Euwe.
Flohr did not play in any official strong Soviet events from 1940–42. He did lose a 1942 match to Vladimir Makogonov in Baku by 2–0. He became a naturalized Soviet citizen in 1942, and developed his writing career in his new country, contributing articles to a number of Soviet newspapers and magazines, including Ogonek. As the Soviet Union first stopped then reversed the Nazi invasion, some chess activity started up again, and in 1943 Flohr won a small but strong tournament in Baku. In 1944 he was again victorious in a Bolshevik Society tournament at Kiev, tied with Alexei Sokolsky. He withdrew from the 1945 USSR Championship after only three games.
After the War, he was still a contender for a possible World Championship match, and finished 6th at the 1948 Interzonal in Saltsjöbaden, thereby qualifying to play in the 1950 Candidates Tournament in Budapest. However, he finished joint last with 7 out of 18, and never entered the World Championship cycle again, preferring to concentrate on journalism, and he also developed a role as a chess organiser. He did play periodically at high levels, both within the Soviet Union and abroad, with some success, until the late 1960s. He was awarded the title of International Arbiter in 1963.
Salo Flohr died in Moscow on July 18, 1983.
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