Notable tournaments Grob was considered a leading Swiss player from the 1930s to 1950s and was invited to many prestigious . In 1926, he tied for 10–12th in Meran (
Edgar Colle won). In 1932, he tied for 9–12th in Bern (
Alexander Alekhine won). In 1934, he tied for 13–14th in
Zürich 1934 (Alekhine won). In 1935, he took 3rd, behind
Salo Flohr and
George Koltanowski, in Barcelona, took 3rd in Rosas (Flohr won), and took 10th in Bad Nauheim (
Bogoljubow won). In 1936, he took 10th in Dresden (Alekhine won), tied for 3rd–4th in Reus, and took 2nd, behind
Erik Lundin, in Ostend. In 1937, Grob won as first on tie-break, 1st–3rd with
Reuben Fine and
Paul Keres in Ostend (beating Keres and Fine, both elite players and joint winners of the
AVRO tournament in 1938). In 1939, he took 9th in Stuttgart (
Europa Turnier; Bogoljubow won). In 1947, he tied for 2nd–3rd, behind
Savielly Tartakower in Baarn, and took 5th in Venice (Tartakower won). In 1947/48, he tied for 2nd–4th, behind
László Szabó, in
Hastings. In 1948, he took 8th in Venice (
Miguel Najdorf won). In 1949/50, he took 4th in Lucerne (
Max Blau won). In 1950, he took 6th in the International Chess Tournament of Gijón. In 1951, he took 10th in Bad Pyrmont (zonal;
Svetozar Gligorić won).
Representing Switzerland Grob represented Switzerland in
Chess Olympiads. • In 1927, at fourth board in
1st Chess Olympiad in London (+2−5=7). • In 1935, at second board in
6th Chess Olympiad in Warsaw (+2−8=5). • In 1936, at third board in
3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad in Munich (+4−7=6). • In 1952, at first board in
10th Chess Olympiad in Helsinki (+6−6=1). He also played for Switzerland in some matches. • In 1950, he lost to
Carlos Guimard ½:1½ in Zürich (SUI – ARG). • In 1951, he drew with
Eugenio Szabados 1:1 in Venice (SUI – ITA). • In 1952, he drew with
Rudolf Teschner 1:1 in Lucerne (SUI – FRG). • In 1955, he won against
Ernst Weichselbaumer 1:0 in Zürich (SUI – Saar).
Notable matches Grob's matches included games against the following notable masters: • In 1933, he lost to
Salo Flohr (+1−4=1). • In 1934, he won against
Jacques Mieses (+4−1=1). • In 1935, he lost to
Lajos Steiner (+1−3=0). • In 1937, he drew with
George Koltanowski (+1−1=2). • In 1947, he lost to
Max Euwe (+0−5=1). • In 1948, he lost to
Miguel Najdorf (+1−5=0). • In 1949, he lost to
Efim Bogoljubow (+2−4=1). • In 1950, he lost to
Lodewijk Prins (+1−4=1).
Notable games • Salo Flohr vs. Grob, Match 1933,
Queen's Pawn Game: Krause Variation (D02), • Grob vs.
Aron Nimzowitsch, Zürich 1934,
Alekhine Defence: Normal Variation (B03),
Swiss Chess Championship He was
Swiss champion twice, in 1939 and 1951.
Correspondence chess Between 1946 and 1972, Grob played 3,614
correspondence games. He won 2,703, lost 430, and drew 481 games. All of the games were played against readers of the
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a leading Swiss newspaper. ==Grob's Attack==