At a national level too, he enjoyed an excellent record at the Soviet Championship; third in 1920, second in 1923, co-champion at Leningrad in 1934 (tied with Ilya Rabinovich at 12/19), and outright champion at Tbilisi in 1937 with 12.5/19.
In match play, he drew with Mikhail Botvinnik in 1937 over 13 games, and beat Vladimir Alatortsev in 1940.