GM Salo Flohr

Salo Flohr was a Czechoslovakian and later Soviet grandmaster, one of the first 27 players granted that title. 

During the 1930s Flohr was considered a potential world championship contender. He drew matches with future world champions and GMs Max Euwe and Mikhail Botvinnik in 1932 and 1933, respectively, and won the Hastings tournament outright three years in a row during 1932-34. For these reasons he was considered the second-best player in the world at this time, behind champion Alexander Alekhine.

Unfortunately, the German invasion of Czechoslovakia and World War II soon interrupted Flohr’s career, including any chance at a championship match with Alekhine, and he relocated to the Soviet Union. Flohr continued to play after World War II but focused more on other areas of chess, especially journalism, and even gaining the title of international arbiter. He passed away in 1983.