Paul Keres was born in Narva on 7 January 1916. At the University of Tartu, he studied mathematics from 1938 to 1941. Paul Keres first appeared in the international chess arena in the mid-1930s, and remained a prominent figure there for years. By the end of 1950s, he was one of the strongest chess players in the world. In 1975, the great Estonian grandmaster Paul Keres died suddenly at the age of 59.