After winning several strong tournaments in the U.S. he then made a name for himself in international tournaments.
He played on three Olympiad teams from 1933 to 1937, winning one gold and one silver individual medal. In
1937 he tied with Paul Keres for first at Margate, and at the AVRO tournament in 1938, he again finished tied for first with Keres.
Then came World War II and he was employed by the Navy to estimate where enemy submarines might surface. These estimates were essentially educated guesses and often highly inaccurate.
After World War II, Fine was invited to the World Championship tournament in 1948, but declined because he was working on his Ph.D. in psycholgy and he expressed dissatisfaction with FIDE's organization coupled with a distrust of thr Russian players thinking they would cheat bu helping each other. After that he pretty much faded from view.
Mikhail Botvinnik (1011-1995, 83 years old) was a different story. He learned the game early and progressed rapidly, winning the first of six USSR Championships in 1931; the others came in 1933, 1939, 1944, 1945 and 1952.
With the death of Alexander Alekhine in 1946, FIDE took control of the World Championship and invited six players to take part and Botvinnik won it.
In 1957 Smyslov defeated Botvinnik in a World Championship match, but lost the return match the following year. Then in 1960, he lost to Mikhail Tal, won the rematch in 1961. He lost the title for the last time to Tigran Petrosian in 1963.
In November of1938, a Dutch radio company AVRO organized and sponsored what was up to that time the strongest tournament ever held. Fine finished tied forfirst with Paul Keres who was declared the winner as a result of a better tiebreak score.
[Event "AVRO"]
[Site "The Netherlands"]
[Date "1938.11.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Reuben Fine"]
[Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C17"]
[Annotator "Fine and Stockfish"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1938.11.06"]
{C17: French Defense} 1. e4 {(Notes by Reuben Fine, supplemented by Stockfish).
Before this tournament I was known as a d4 player, hence my first move must
have come as somewhat of a surprise to Botvinnik.} e6 {Botvinnik does not vary.
Against e4 he almost invariably played the French, sometimes he tried the
Sicilian.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. dxc5 {This is the prepared move.
Unlike Euwe, I make it a rule not to analyze such lines too profoundly before
the game because it is most essential to be able to meet whatever surprises
come up over the board and not everything can be foreseen.} Ne7 6. Nf3 Nbc6 7.
Bd3 d4 {Accepts the complications. On 7...Bxc5 8.O-O, White's game is freer.}
8. a3 Ba5 {This gets a ! from Stockfish as both 8...Bxc3 and 8...dxc3 favor
white (Tartajubow)} 9. b4 Nxb4 $1 10. axb4 Bxb4 11. Bb5+ {Another possibility
was O-O, but the move played was part of the prepared variation.} (11. O-O Bxc3
12. Rb1 Qc7 13. Ng5 Qxe5 14. Qh5 g6 15. Qh6 Ng8 16. Qh4 Kf8 17. Bf4 Qd5 18.
Bd6+ Kg7 19. Nxf7 Kxf7 20. Qd8 e5 21. Qf8+ Ke6 22. f4 e4 23. f5+ {1-0 (23)
Hodgson,J (2590)-Kupreichik,V (2500) Germany 1998}) 11... Nc6 (11... Bd7 {
and black us slightly better after} 12. Qxd4 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Bxb5 {Slobodjan,R
(2490)-Schmidt,R (2370) Germany 2014}) 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Ra4 Bxc3+ 14. Bd2 {
Suddenly Black discovers that he is lost. The Bishop is hopelessly shut in,
and it is only a question of time before White's superior development make
itself felt.} f6 {Desperately trying to free the bishop. (This move gets a ?
from the engine. Black shpuld have tried `4...a5 with approximate equality/
Tartajubow)} 15. O-O {[%mdl 2048]} O-O 16. Bxc3 dxc3 17. Qe1 a5 (17... fxe5 {
This is his best try.} 18. Nxe5 Qd2 19. Qxd2 cxd2 20. Rd1 Rb8 21. f4 {Making
an escape for his K.} (21. Rxa7 Rb2 {and black has equalized.}) 21... Rb5 (
21... Rb2 22. Rxd2 {wins}) 22. Rxd2 a5 {and black can at least put up a fight
(Tartajubow)}) 18. Qxc3 Ba6 19. Rfa1 Bb5 20. Rd4 {Black was hoping for 20.Rxa5
which would bring some freedom to the Black pieces.} (20. Rxa5 Rxa5 21. Qxa5
Qxa5 22. Rxa5 {Black has completely equalized (Tartajubow)}) 20... Qe7 21. Rd6
a4 {To tie the rook down.} 22. Qe3 {Threatens to win a pawn, but not in an
obvious way. &uis move gets a ! from both Fine and Stockfish. Tartajubow)} Ra7
23. Nd2 {The point: the poor Bishop will be driven away.} a3 {The pawn goes
anyhow.} 24. c4 ({Less strong is} 24. Rxa3 Rfa8 $16) 24... Ba4 25. exf6 Qxf6
26. Rxa3 Re8 27. h3 {After this q - iet move, Black might as well resign.
(Stockfish gives white a 4.5 Pawn advantage Tartajubow)} Raa8 28. Nf3 Qb2 29.
Ne5 Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qf5 31. Qg3 {Too many threats. Black can't guard the 7th rank.
--Fine (Black does not have a single move, and Rf3 is threatened. A
combination of a splendid strategic idea with tactical subtleties.--Botvinnik).
} 1-0
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