The fourth round was played in Groningen. The city is located in the north-east of the Netherlands, not far from the mouth of the Ems into the North Sea, so the players actually travelled by plane from Rotterdam, where the third round was played.
Alexander Alekhine had to agree to a draw early in his black game against Salo Flohr: after 23 moves, so much material had already been exchanged that the world champion had no chance of winning the game.
Salo Flohr effortlessly achieved a draw against World Champion Alekhine
Reuben Fine had more success with the black pieces than the World Champion. Against Max Euwe, the young American quickly obtained a winning position after the latter had granted him control of the centre:
Max Euwe was World Champion for a short time (1935-37), but did not put up much resistance in his game against Fine
There was also a quick draw between José Raúl Capablanca and Mikhail Botvinnik. With his pair of bishops against Capablanca's knight, Botvinnik might have been able to play on a bit longer, but that would have probably not been seriously promising.
Mikhail Botvinnik — the 27-year-old Soviet player might reach the very top in the future
Paul Keres also achieved a victory, over Samuel Reshevsky. Reshevsky had come out of the opening phase a piece down after he had not handled the starting battle correctly, but at least he had some compensation in the form of two pawns and some initiative. But when the American failed to capture a third pawn, Keres finally got on the road to victory:
Another promising player — 22-year-old Paul Keres
