Fine won Hastings 1935–36 with 7½/9, a point ahead of Salo Flohr. Although Fine was active and very successful in U.S. open tournaments, he was never able to win the U.S. Championship, usually placing behind his great American rival, Samuel Reshevsky. The U.S. Championship was organized in a round-robin format during that era. When in 1936 Frank Marshall voluntarily gave up the American Championship title he had held since 1909, the result was the first modern U.S. Championship tournament. Fine scored 10½/15 in the U.S. Championship, New York City 1936, a tied 3rd–4th, as Reshevsky won. In the U.S. Championship, New York 1938, Fine placed 2nd with 12½/16, with Reshevsky repeating as champion. In the U.S. Championship, New York 1940, Fine again scored 12½/16 for 2nd, as Reshevsky won for the third straight time. Then in the 1944 U.S. Championship at New York, Fine scored 14½/17 for 2nd, losing his game to Arnold Denker, and finishing half a point back, as the latter won his only national title. Fine tallied 50/64 in his four U.S. title attempts, for 78.1%, but was never champion. Not being national champion seriously hurt Fine's prospects for making a career from chess. However, Fine's international tournament record in the 1930s was superior to Reshevsky's. Fine did play many more top-class international events than Reshevsky during that period, and was usually near the top of the table. By the end of 1937, Fine had won a string of strong European international tournaments, and was one of the most successful players in the world. Fine won at Oslo 1936 with 6½/7, half a point ahead of Flohr. Fine captured Zandvoort 1936 with 8½/11, ahead of World Champion Max Euwe, Savielly Tartakower, and Paul Keres. Fine shared 3rd–5th at the elite Nottingham 1936 event with 9½/14, half a point behind winners José Raúl Capablanca and Mikhail Botvinnik. Fine shared 1st–2nd at Amsterdam 1936 on 5/7 with Euwe, half a point ahead of Alekhine. Fine placed 2nd at Hastings 1936–37 with 7½/9, as Alekhine won.