 It is entirely possible that his career as a meteorologist worked against him in this respect; defections of several very strong Soviet players, including as Alexander Alekhine, Efim Bogolyubov, and Fedor Bohatirchuk to the West following the Soviet takeover in 1917 may have made the Soviet chess organization wary of allowing Aronin to travel outside the USSR with his important (and possibly secret) scientific knowledge.His only international chances came in a team event in 1957, and in a team match against Bulgaria that same year, where he played two games.In every Soviet tournament he played, he had to face a number of very strong compatriots.