Salo Flohr
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Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a leading Czech-Jewish chess grandmaster of the early 20th century. He became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s and his name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, Salo Flohr slippers and Salo Flohr eau-de-cologne. He dominated many of the chess tournaments of the pre-WWII years, and at one point looked to be a genuine contender for the World Chess Championship.
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[edit] Early life
Flohr had a troubled childhood beset by personal crises. He was born in Horodenka in what was then Austria-Hungary, but is now in Ukraine. He and his brother were orphaned during World War I after his parents were killed in a massacre, and they both had to flee to the newly-formed nation of Czechoslovakia.
Flohr settled in Prague, and gradually acquired a reputation as a skilled chessplayer by playing for stakes in the city's many cafés. During 1924 he participated in simultaneous exhibitions by Richard Réti and Rudolf Spielmann, and he was still enjoying simuls well into his seventies.
[edit] World title contender
Flohr won the Kautsky Memorial tournaments of 1928 and 1929 which were held in Prague, and made his international debut at the Rogaška Slatina tournament in Slovenia. Here he performed very creditably, finishing second to Akiba Rubinstein. Flohr had also taken a job as a chess journalist, and one of his first assignments had been to cover the 1928 Berlin tournament where he continued to win money on the side by playing chess.
Flohr's playing ability peaked in the 1930's, when he became one of the world's strongest players and a leading contender for the world championship. He became Champion of Czechoslovakia in 1933 and 1936 and played in many tournaments throughout Europe, generally finishing amongst the top three. Notable victories were at Bad Sliač in 1932 where he shared first place with Milan Vidmar; Scheveningen in 1933; Bad Liebenwerda in 1934 with 9.5/11; Barcelona in 1935 where he tied for first with George Koltanowski; Moscow in 1935 where he came 1st= with future World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik; Poděbrady in 1936 with the outstanding score of +10 =6 -1; and Kemeri in 1937 where he shared the top spot with Vladimir Petrov and Samuel Reshevsky. During this period, he had several other notable high finishes, such as Bern 1932 (tied for second with 11.5/15, behind only World Champion Alexander Alekhine); Zurich 1934 (tied for second with 12/15, again trailing only Alekhine); and Parnu 1937 (second behind Paul Schmidt).
Flohr also frequently visited England, and had a terrific run in the Hastings tournaments of the early 1930s. He was 1st in 1931/32, 1932/33 and 1933/34, finished 1st= with Max Euwe and Sir George Thomas in 1934/35, and was second behind only Reuben Fine in 1935/36. He also won the Margate tournament of 1936 ahead of former World Champion José Raúl Capablanca.
His form for his adopted country in the Chess Olympiads was equally impressive, according to the comprehensive Olympiad site olimpbase.org. He made his debut at Hamburg 1930 on board one, scoring a phenomenal 14.5/17 for the gold medal. On home soil at Prague 1931, again on board one, he scored 11/18, and led Czechoslovakia to a team bronze medal. At Folkestone 1933, he again played board one, and made 9/14, helping Czechoslovakia to the team silver, and earning a bronze medal for himself. At Warsaw 1935, on board one he scored an unbeaten 13/17 for another individual gold medal, and Czechoslovakia finished fifth. Then at Stockholm 1937, once again on board one, he scored 12.5/16 for a third individual gold medal. In five Olympiads, he won two individual gold medals, a silver and a bronze. His aggregate was 60/82, for a fantastic 73 per cent against the top players in the world; however, it should be noted that the Soviet Union did not compete during those years.
In addition, Flohr enjoyed a fair amount of success in match play, and he arranged two matches against his main rivals for the title of Challenger to reigning World Champion Alexander Alekhine. He drew a 16-game match against Euwe in 1932 (+3 =10 -3) (who was soon to be the champion, from 1935-37), and drew against Botvinnik in 1933 (+2 =8 -2). Flohr beat Gösta Stoltz by 5.5-2.5 in 1931 and, a year later, narrowly beat Mir Sultan Khan, the 1932 and 1933 British Champion, by 3.5-2.5. Flohr also defeated Johannes van den Bosch at the Hague in 1932 by 6-2. In 1933, he won two matches in Switzerland, first over Oskar Naegeli by 4-2 at Bern, and then by 4.5-1.5 over Henri Grob at Arosa.
[edit] 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 an incredibly 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. He and his family fled, first to Sweden, and then to Moscow with the help of his friend Botvinnik.
[edit] Soviet citizen, recovers form
Flohr was able to recover his form after reaching safety in Moscow. He won Kemeri 1939 with a wonderful score of 12/15, also captured the very strong 1939 Leningrad / Moscow tournament with 12/17, tied for second at Margate 1939 with 6.5/9 behind only Paul Keres, and then tied for second at Bournemouth 1939 with 8.5/11, behind only former World Champion Euwe.
Flohr 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 Saltsjobaden, 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.
[edit] Achievements and legacy
Flohr was one of Czechoslovakia's greatest chessplayers ever, and proved virtually invincible at the Olympiads of the 1930s. His tournament record was impressive, with his tactical skill and excellent endgame technique securing him many famous victories. FIDE awarded him the International Grandmaster title on its inaugural list in 1950. He made a number of important contributions to opening theory: a 'Flohr variation' can be found in no fewer than six major openings, including the Caro-Kann Defence, the Ruy Lopez, the English Opening, and the Grünfeld Defence. The Flohr-Zaitsev Variation of the Closed Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8) was taken up in the 1980s with success by World Champion Anatoly Karpov.
Flohr was primarily a strategist who excelled in the endgame. He favoured the Closed openings with White, and during the prime of his career, he was especially deadly with the Queen's Gambit, as the game selection shows. Flohr almost never opened with 1.e4. He was one of the main developers of the Caro-Kann, which was an obscure and poorly-regarded line as late as the 1920s when Flohr took it up.
The Second World War killed off any chance he had of winning the world title, and the stress of becoming a refugee for the second time in his life affected his style of play. He became a much more cautious player in his post-war games and earned a drawish reputation, with many short draws which were hardly contested. He could not keep pace with the new generation of Soviet stars which emerged after World War II. Players such as Vasily Smyslov, David Bronstein, Isaac Boleslavsky, Alexander Kotov, Tigran Petrosian, Efim Geller, Mark Taimanov, Yuri Averbakh, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Tal, Viktor Korchnoi, and Leonid Stein dominated the landscape with their sharper styles and innovative openings.
According to the site chessmetrics.com, which compares historical ratings, Flohr was among the world's top 20 players from 1930 to 1951, except for the war years 1942-44 when he was largely inactive; and his ranking peaked at #2 in the world in 1935.[1]
But it is noteworthy that Flohr was never able to defeat Alekhine head-to-head, losing five games and drawing seven in their 12 encounters. Alekhine had a sharp, tactical style, and he could also play outstanding positional chess. It is highly unlikely that Flohr could have won a match against him, had he been given the chance.
[edit] Notable chess games
- Karel Opocensky vs Salo Flohr, Kautsky Memorial, Prague 1927, Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon Variation (B37), 0-1 A typical game from his early career, with very precise positional play setting up a nice tactical finish.
- Salo Flohr vs Salomon Landau, Anvers 1930, Queen's Gambit (D30), 1-0 Flohr was a terror on the White side of the QGD.
- Isaac Kashdan vs Salo Flohr, Bled 1931, Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Variation (C76), 0-1 These two precise positional players were then among the world's top echelon.
- Salo Flohr vs Rudolf Spielmann, Bled 1931, Queen's Gambit Declined, Lasker Defence (D55), 1-0 Flohr defuses the dangerous attacker.
- Salo Flohr vs Geza Maroczy, Bled 1931, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav Defence (D44), 1-0 Two endgame wizards meet and the younger Flohr emerges on top.
- Salo Flohr vs Efim Bogolyubov, Sliac 1932, King's Indian Defence, Classical Orthodox Variation (E94), 1-0 The King's Indian Defence was still a few years away from becoming fashionable; Black's play had to be improved on what he showed here.
- Salo Flohr vs Max Euwe, Amsterdam / Karlsbad match 1932, Queen's Gambit, Exchange Variation (D36), 1-0 Another virtually perfect game by White showing optimal strategy in this variation.
- Salo Flohr vs Sir George Thomas, London 1932, Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange Variation (D36), 1-0 The English polymath can't keep pace with the Czech chess specialist.
- Mikhail Botvinnik vs Salo Flohr, Leningrad / Moscow match 1933, Caro-Kann Defence, Panov-Botvinnik Attack (B13), 0-1 Botvinnik adopts his favourite line, but has to concede defeat.
- Salo Flohr vs Mikhail Botvinnik, Leningrad / Moscow match 1933, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Classical Variation (E38), 1-0 Flohr took a two-game lead early in the match, only to allow Botvinnik to come back to tie.
- Salo Flohr vs Isaac Kashdan, Folkestone Olympiad 1933, English Opening, Flohr-Mikenas Attack (A18), 1-0 Flohr adopts one of the lines which will eventually bear his name, with good success here.
- Salo Flohr vs Gideon Stahlberg, Zurich 1934, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav Defence, Botvinnik Variation (D44), 1-0 This sharp line was just beginning to be explored around this time.
- Salo Flohr vs Paul Keres, Warsaw Olympiad 1935, Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange Variation (D37), 1-0 Keres was the 19-year-old new star making his international debut, but he is out of his league here.
- Salo Flohr vs J.R. Capablanca, Nottingham 1936, Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower Variation (D59), 1-0 Even the phenomenal Capablanca, former World Champion and joint winner of Nottingham, can't defend against Flohr's Queen's Gambit.
- Salo Flohr vs Emanuel Lasker, Moscow 1936, Reti Opening (A06), 1-0 Solid positional performance in one of the fashionable hypermodern variations.
- Salo Flohr vs Emanuel Lasker, Nottingham 1936, Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange Variation (D38), 1-0 Lasker was the Grand Old Man of Chess, in his last major event, and was conceding 40 years to Flohr here.
- Salo Flohr vs Milan Vidmar, Nottingham 1936, Queen's Gambit, Orthodox (D62), 1-0 Veteran Vidmar was late in his career and couldn't handle Flohr here.
- Salo Flohr vs Miguel Najdorf, Margate 1939, Queen's Gambit Declined (D31), 1-0 Najdorf was a Polish Jew who was soon to wind up in Argentina after World War II started, while Flohr by this time had already fled to the Soviet Union to escape persecution.
- Salo Flohr vs Igor Bondarevsky, Leningrad / Moscow 1939, Dutch Defence (A90), 1-0 Bondarevsky adopts the sharper Dutch to avoid Flohr's Queen's Gambit, but the end result was likely the same.
- David Bronstein vs Salo Flohr, USSR Championship, Moscow 1944, Ruy Lopez, Open Variaton (C82), 0-1 The 20-year-old Bronstein was making his debut at the top Soviet level, but learns a lesson here.
- Mark Taimanov vs Salo Flohr, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Caro-Kann Defence, Two Knights' Variation (B10), 0-1 The Caro-Kann was one of Flohr's favourite defences, in which he made many important developments.
- Salo Flohr vs Pal Benko, Budapest 1949, Queen's Gambit, Albin Counter-Gambit (D08), 1-0 Young Benko tries the sharp Albin to try to catch Flohr by surprise, but to no avail.
- Salo Flohr vs Tigran Petrosian, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, Old Indian Defence (A54), 1-0 The 20-year-old Petrosian was making his debut at the top Soviet level, and learns a positional lesson.
- Salo Flohr vs Laszlo Szabo, Budapest Candidates tournament 1950, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav Defence (D43), 1-0 The new Hungarian star can't handle Flohr's precision.
- Salo Flohr vs Efim Geller, USSR Championship, Moscow 1950, Reti Opening (A05), 1-0 Another young Master learns that the veteran Flohr still packs a punch.
- Leonid Stein vs Salo Flohr, Ukrainian Championship, Kiev 1957, Caro-Kann Defence, Flohr-Smyslov Modern Variation (B17), 0-1 Another smooth positional massage from the Master of the 'Roach'.
- Salo Flohr vs J.H. Donner, Beverwijk 1960, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation (A37), 1-0 Flohr was appearing less frequently, but could still hold his own, especially with White.
- Salo Flohr vs Bent Larsen, Noordwijk 1965, Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon Variation (B39), 1-0 Flohr takes off one of the Candidates of that time in his last great victory.
[edit] Writings and further reading
- 12th Chess Tournament of Nations [Moscow 1956 Olympiad], by Salomon Flohr, Moscow, Fiskultura i sport, 1957 (Russian).
- Salo Flohr's Best Games of Chess, by Salomon Flohr (translated from the Russian by Gregory S. Donges), Davenport, Iowa, Thinker's Press, 1985, ISBN 0-938650-34-3.
- Grandmaster Flohr, by Viktor D. Baturinsky (Hg), Moscow, Fiskultura i sport, 1985 (Russian).
- Salo Flohr und das Schachleben in der Tschechoslawakei, by Helmut Wieteck, Hamburg, Neu-Jung Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-933648-26-2 (German).
