Sammy was tremendously strong in matches, and the Soviets made sure he never got the chance to play Botvinnik in a match. He played eleven of the first twelve world champions, and drew a match against Fischer at the age of 49. His one weakness as a player was his time trouble. He used up so much of his time in the early stages of a game that he was often short of time at the end. This probably cost him the Candidates tournament in 1953.