His first important result was clear 1st at Yaroslavl 1948 with 12.5/17 (this was likely a Soviet Championship quarter-final). His first attempt to qualify for the Soviet final saw him score 6.5/16 in the semi-final at Moscow, 1949. In the Leningrad Championship of 1950 he scored 7/13 for 6th place, but he fell short again at the Soviet semi-final level (Tartu 1950) with 5.5/15.
His early performance was marked by a notable achievement 1st at Yaroslavl in 1948 with a score of 12.5/17, which was likely a quarter-final match in the Soviet Championship. His first attempt to qualify for the Soviet final ended in Moscow in 1949 with a score of 6.5/16 in the semi-finals. In the Leningrad Championship of 1950, he secured 7th place with a score of 7/13, but again failed to advance to the Soviet semi-finals (Tartu 1950) with a score of 5.5/15.