He shared the Leningrad title in 1933–34 with Georgy Lisitsin on 11/15. In the 1934 Leningrad International Alatortsev scored 4½/11, as Botvinnik won to continue his dominance, and scored 7/13 in the Leningrad National tournament in May 1934 for 8th place, as Ilya Rabinovich won. In the 1934 Soviet Championship at Leningrad, he scored 10½/19 for a tied 5th-8th place; Grigory Levenfish and Ilya Rabinovich won. He earned a place in the 1935 Moscow International tournament, the strongest Soviet event since 1925, and finished with a even score of 9½ /19, as Botvinnik and Salo Flohr won.