Paul Keres (January 71916 - June 51975) was an Estonian chess player, one of the stronger chess players of all times apart from the World chess champions. He was dubbed "The Crown Prince of Chess".
Paul Keres was born in Narva, Estonia.
In 1938 he won the AVRO tournament. It was supposed that the winner of this tournament would be the challenger for the World champion title, but the outbreak of the Second World War brought negotiations with the current champion, Alekhine, to an end.
Keres won three times the strong USSR Chess Championship (1947, 1950 and 1951), and finished five times runner-up in Candidates tournaments. But he never reached the top.
He died in Helsinki, Finland in 1975.
The five kroons (5 krooni) Estonian banknote bears his portrait.