World War II Years
During World War II Denker played exhibitions at army bases and aboard aircraft carriers. In 1945 he played on board one in the USA vs USSR radio match, losing both games to Mikhail Botvinnik, and in 1946 travelled to Moscow for the return match, losing both games against Vasily Smyslov. Also in 1946, he played at the very strong Groningen tournament, scoring 9½ out of 19 and securing draws against Botvinnik and Smyslov.
David Hooper and Ken Whyld note that Denker may have been unfortunate in that his best years came during World War II, when very little competitive chess was being played (Hooper & Whyld 1992).
In 1947 Denker produced an autobiographical game collection in his book: If You Must Play Chess.
Read more about this topic: Arnold Denker
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