Lev Solomonovich Aronin (; 20 July 1920, Kuibyshev – 4 October 1982,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

. He was a

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

by profession.

Early years

Lev Solomonovich Aronin played in eight

USSR Chess Championships The USSR Chess Championship was played from 1920 to 1991. Organized by the USSR Chess Federation, it was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winner ...

, which were the strongest tournaments in the world during his era, and placed as high as a tie for 2nd–4th places in 1950 at Moscow. He was the youngest of three brothers, with Gregory (1913–2007) being the eldest, and Efim (1915–1989) being the second. Gregory taught him chess at the age of 8, and he could recall that at the age of 14, Lev beat him and Efim simultaneously without looking at the boards while they were making the moves over the chessboards for Lev and themselves. Gregory later told:

He was lying on the couch at another room and shouted the moves to us, for each board, and we were making them over the boards and shouting back our respective moves. It was amazing. Both games lasted for no longer than around 30 moves each, which is not trivial given both me and Efim were quite strong chess players.

Early competitive results

Aronin lost a match quite badly in 1944, to the strong, experienced Master

Alexander Konstantinopolsky Alexander Markovich Konstantinopolsky (; 19 February 1910 – 21 September 1990) was a Soviet chess player, trainer and writer. He was a five-time champion of Kiev, and trained the world title challenger David Bronstein from a young age. He wa ...

, by +1−6=5. In an All-USSR First Category tournament at Gorky, 1945, Aronin scored 5/15, for 14th place out of 16 players. However, he then achieved a very fine win in a tournament (likely a USSR Championship quarter-final) at

Erevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

1945, scoring an unbeaten 12/15. He then scored 7½/15 in the Soviet Championship semifinal,

1945, tying for 8th–9th places. In a Candidate Masters' tournament at

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, 1946, Aronin won clear first place with 11/14, losing only one game. This earned him the Soviet Master title, and marked a big improvement in his play in just two years.

Soviet Master

In 1946 at

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, in the USSR Championship semifinal, Aronin made an excellent tie for second place, with 11/17. This earned him a place in his first Soviet final, held in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

1947 (15th URS-ch), and he performed creditably in super-strong company with 7/19, in a tie for 17th–18th places. Aronin won the 1947 Championship of

Region (Oblast) with an unbeaten score of 8½/10. He then tied for sixth place in the Moscow championship of 1947 with a score of 7½/14. He placed second in the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n Championship at Kuibyshev with 7½/13, behind only

Nikolay Novotelnov Nikolay Novotelnov (; 14 December 1911, Saint Petersburg – 30 December 2006, Saint Petersburg) was Russian chess International Master (1951) and author. He was champion of Leningrad and won Russian Federated Republics championship in 1947. He w ...

. Then, at

1947, the Soviet qualifying semifinal for the next final, he tied for first place with

Mark Taimanov Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (; 7 February 1926 – 28 November 2016) was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. A prolific chess author, Taimanov was awarded the title of Grandmas ...

, scoring 10½/15, and qualified for his second Soviet final. The next year saw the Soviet Championship (16th URS-ch) held in

, and Aronin scored 6/18, for 18th position. Aronin again won the Championship of

Region (Oblast) in 1948 with an unbeaten score of 11½/13. He played in the Russian Championship at

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

1948, tying for 5th–6th places, with a score of 8½/15. He had to return to qualifying for the next national championship, but came through the gauntlet of the semifinal, with a fine 11/16 in

1949, tying for 2nd–3rd places, to advance. The final (17th URS-ch) was also held in

, and this marked Aronin's arrival at the elite level, as he posted a strong 10/19, good for a tie for 9th–10th places, and a 2636 performance rating, according to

chessmetrics Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo and Edo rating systems. Implementation Chessmetrics is a weighted average of past performance. The score considers a player's ...

.com. This was his first Grandmaster-level result (assuming a GM result as 2600+).

Reaches the Soviet elite

Despite his solid finish in 1949, Aronin was not exempt into the next Soviet final. To qualify, he played the semifinal at Gorky 1950, which worked out much better than his 1945 visit there. He scored 10½/15, for clear first place. Aronin also played the Russian Championship at Gorky that same year; he tied for 2nd–4th places, with 7½/12, behind only

Rashid Nezhmetdinov Rashid Gibyatovich Nezhmetdinov (, Tatar: '', Räşit Hibät ulı Näcmetdinov''; ; 15 December 1912 – 3 June 1974) was a Soviet chess player, chess writer, International Master and checkers player. Although he never attained the title of G ...

. Moving on to Moscow 1950 (18th URS-ch), this tournament marked the high point of his career, as he scored 11/17 for a tie of 2nd–4th places, behind only

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

. He was exempt from qualifying the next year. Although not quite as strong the next year, Aronin scored 9/17 at Moscow 1951 (19th URS-ch) and a tie for 9th–10th places. Aronin had to go back to the semifinal stage to qualify for the next final, however, and he qualified successfully at

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

1951. The 20th URS-ch was held at

1952, and Aronin dropped a bit from previous championships, managing only 9/19, for 12th place. Aronin was awarded the

title in 1950 by

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, the World Chess Federation.

International chance denied

Very little about Aronin's chess can be found in English-language sources. However, GM

David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in World Chess Championship 195 ...

, in his acclaimed 1995 book ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (coauthored with Tom Furstenberg) is one writer who has something to say. Bronstein wrote that he had played several games with Aronin, and knew him quite well. Bronstein's first encounter with Aronin, In fact, Aronin did not play in the 1955 Soviet Championship final, referred to by Bronstein, with the game against Smyslov. Likely Bronstein means the 1951 Championship, in which Smyslov and Aronin both played. And for the 1952 qualification situation with Kotov, referred to by Bronstein, Aronin had finished with 9/17 in the 1951 Championship, the Soviet qualifying event for the 1952 Interzonal, while Kotov had 8/17 in that event. Several players who had finished ahead of Aronin in that 1951 event were otherwise exempt past the 1952 Interzonal stage: Botvinnik as World Champion, and

, Smyslov, and Bronstein, based on their earlier strong performances from previous World Championship cycles. Taimanov,

Efim Geller Efim Petrovich Geller (; ; 8 March 1925 – 17 November 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice (in 1955 and 1979) and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occa ...

Yuri Averbakh Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (; 8 February 1922 – 7 May 2022) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978. Averbakh was the first centenarian FIDE Grandmaster. Despite his eyesight and ...

, and

Tigran Petrosian Tigran Vardani Petrosian (; ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster and the ninth World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing s ...

all finished ahead of Aronin in the 1951 Soviet final, and those four played in the 1952 Interzonal, along with Kotov; all five Soviets also played well enough to move on from

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to the 1953

Candidates A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

' Tournament at

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Later tournament results

Aronin's next strong performance took place in the Soviet Team Championship,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

1954. There, he scored 6½/10. Then, at Leningrad 1956, he was again in form, with 11½/19, tying for first with Abraham Khasin,

Alexander Tolush Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush (1 May 1910 – 3 March 1969) was a Soviet chess grandmaster. He was one of Boris Spassky's mentors. Tolush was born and died in Saint Petersburg (in 1969 called Leningrad). He earned the title of International Ma ...

, Konstantin Klaman, and

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilyevich Spassky (; January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) was a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigra ...

. He went back to the semifinal stage for the 1957 Soviet final, and he qualified through with a fine 14/19 at the semifinal in

1957, second place behind Taimanov, and advanced to the final. Then, at the 1957 Soviet Championship in Moscow (24th URS-ch), Aronin scored 11/21 to tie for 10th–11th places. In an International tournament in Leningrad later in 1957, Aronin scored 12/19, good for a tie for third–fourth places, behind Spassky and

, and tied with Taimanov. Aronin was selected for the Soviet team for the first European Team Championship,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

1957, and scored 1½/3 on the second reserve board. The Soviets won team gold, and in an utterly dominant performance, captured individual gold medals on each of the top nine boards. In the

Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...

Memorial, Moscow 1959, Aronin had a minus score of 5/11, and tied for 7th–9th places. In the Moscow Championship of 1961, he tied for 3rd–5th places with 11/17. He played in an International tournament at

1961, and finished fourth, with 6½/11. He trailed only winners

Evgeni Vasiukov Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (, March 5, 1933 – May 10, 2018) was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1961. During his career, he won the Moscow Champio ...

and

Vasily Smyslov Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov (; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who was the seventh World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidates Tournament, Candidate for the World Chess Championship on ...

, and third-placed

Friðrik Ólafsson Friðrik Ólafsson (26 January 1935 – 4 April 2025) was an Icelandic chess grandmaster. He was president of FIDE from 1978 to 1982. He was a six-time Icelandic Chess Champion and a two-time Nordic Chess Champion. Chess career Friðrik was ...

, while finishing ahead of several Grandmasters. For the next Soviet final, he had to qualify, and did so at

1962. Then, in the 1962 Soviet Championship at

(30th URS-ch), Aronin scored 10½/19. He had a poor tournament at the

1962 International, scoring just 5/15. He won the

Championship in 1965. Unfortunately, his chess playing career was eventually cut short due to ongoing health problems.

Legacy and style

Aronin never got the chance to compete internationally, outside the Soviet Union, in an individual tournament. It is entirely possible that his career as a meteorologist worked against him in this respect;

defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

s of several very strong Soviet players, including as

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...

, Efim Bogolyubov, and Fedor Bohatirchuk to the West following the Soviet takeover in 1917 may have made the Soviet chess organization wary of allowing Aronin to travel outside the USSR with his important (and possibly secret) scientific knowledge. His only international chances came in a team event in 1957, and in a team match against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

that same year, where he played two games. In every Soviet tournament he played, he had to face a number of very strong compatriots. Stuck behind the incredibly deep Soviet vanguard, which in 1957 had 15 of the world's top 20 players, Aronin's chances to go abroad never came, since he was 37 by this time, and international opportunities were reserved for proven winners and younger players. Aronin's style tended to be positional in nature, with the tactics arising naturally out of the position rather than being forced, and he was one of the leading lights with the King's Indian Defence from the mid-1940s, as this defence became very popular. He was a fine theoretician who was dangerous for virtually everyone he met; during his career he scored wins over almost all the top Soviet players, excepting

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (; ; – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who held five world titles in three different reigns. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer sci ...

and

. One of the mainline variations in the Orthodox

King's Indian Defence The King's Indian Defence (or KID) is a common chess opening. It is defined by the following moves: : 1. d4 Nf6 : 2. c4 g6 Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6 (the Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead and ...

is named the Aronin–Taimanov Variation, in honour of him and of GM

. The variation runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1. Aronin died at the age of 62 in Moscow on October 4, 1982.

Notable chess games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aronin, Lev 1920 births 1982 deaths Russian Jews Russian chess players Jewish chess players Soviet chess players Chess International Masters Chess theoreticians Chess players from Moscow Sportspeople from Samara, Russia Soviet meteorologists Soviet Jews