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Paul List

Russian chess player (1887-1954)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 28, 2025
Entity authorityQ2044153 ↗
Source-derived summary

Pawel M. List (Hebrew: פאול ליסט, Russian: Павел Лист; Odesa, 9 September 1887 – London? 1954) was a Russian Jewish chess player, who emigrated to Britain in 1937 but never took British citizenship.

He was born in Odesa, Ukraine (then Russian Empire). He had a separate chess career in each of the 3 countries he lived in – Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom.

In 1908 List won in Odessa tournament. He drew a match (+4 –4 =1) with Grigory Levenfish in 1910, he tied for 3rd place at Odessa 1910 (Boris Verlinsky won), tied for 15-16th at St. Petersburg 1911 (Stepan Levitsky won), and tied for fourth with Ilya Rabinovich in the seventh All-Russian Masters' Tournament (Hauptturnier) at Vilna 1912, Lithuania (then Russian Empire). The event was won by Karel Hromádka.

In the 1920s he went to Germany and whilst living there he tied for 7th at Berlin 1926, tied for 6th at Berlin 1927, tied for third at Magdeburg 1927, tied for 5th at Berlin 1928 (Café Koenig), tied for 3rd at Frankfurt 1930, tied for 8th at Swinemünde 1932, and tied for 4th at Ostend 1937.

In 1937 he settled in Britain where he tied for 3rd at Plymouth 1938, tied for 2nd at Birmingham 1939, was 4th at Hampstead 1939, and tied for 1st place with Harry Golombek at London (Easter) 1940.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Paul List” as russian chess player (1887-1954). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1887, 1954, 1937, 1908—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1887-09-09. The account is most persuasive where Paul, List and Russian can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as russian chess player (1887-1954). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2044153. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1887, 1954, 1937 and 1908.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Paul List”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Paul List primary sources, Paul List archive and Paul research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Paul List”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Paul List” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.