Lev Solomonovich Aronin (Russian: Лев Соломонович Аронин; 20 July 1920, Kuibyshev – 4 October 1982, Moscow) was a Soviet International Master of chess.
In a Candidate Masters' tournament at Kaunas, 1946, Aronin won clear first place with 11/14, losing only one game.
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 Moscow 1949, tying for 2nd–3rd places, to advance.
The final (17th URS-ch) was also held in Moscow, 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.com.
Aronin also played the Russian Championship at Gorky that same year; he tied for 2nd–4th places, with 7½/12, behind only Rashid Nezhmetdinov.
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.
The 20th URS-ch was held at Moscow 1952, and Aronin dropped a bit from previous championships, managing only 9/19, for 12th place.
However, GM David Bronstein, in his acclaimed 1995 book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (coauthored with Tom Furstenberg) is one writer who has something to say.
Bronstein's first encounter with Aronin, which ended in a draw, dates back to the Semi-Final of the USSR Championship in 1945.
Lev Solomonovich Aronin played successfully many times in USSR Championships but never managed to actually become the champion.
Also, his name was removed from the list of participants of the Interzonal Tournament 1952 in Stockholm in favour of another player, a high-ranking member of the USSR Chess Federation (Alexander Kotov, T.F.).
Then, at Leningrad 1956, he was again in form, with 11½/19, tying for first with Abraham Khasin, Alexander Tolush, Konstantin Klaman, and Boris Spassky.
He trailed only winners Evgeni Vasiukov and Vasily Smyslov, and third-placed Friðrik Ólafsson, while finishing ahead of several Grandmasters.
Unfortunately, his chess playing career was eventually cut short due to ongoing health problems.
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 and Vasily Smyslov.