She began traveling throughout Europe, following the chess circuit both for the experience and to distance herself from what she considered the ominous National Socialist movement based, at the time, in Munich.

During the early decades of the 20th century, female chess players were a rarity and Sonja Graf basked in the popularity and attention her sudden fame brought her as much as she exploited the freedom and independence of her new itinerant lifestyle.

She lost both matches (by the scores of 1–3 and 4½–11½),[4] but was invited, along with Menchik, to participate in what would normally have been an exclusive male tournament held that year in Prague.

As a result of her outspoken defiance of Hitler's government, she was taken off the list of German participants and played under "Libre" ("free" in Spanish) flag.

[5] In September, with the tournament still in progress, Germany invaded Poland, unleashing World War II and causing unprecedented confusion within the competition.

[7] She quickly learned the local Spanish language, assimilated herself in the culture and wrote the books, Así juega una mujer (This Is How a Woman Plays), which describes her experiences as a chess player, and Yo Soy Susann (I Am Susann), recounting the physical and psychological abuse she suffered during her childhood.