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In CN#3861, Edward Winter was trying to identify a certain L. L. Schwartzmann. Due partly to various references with various spellings, it was questioned whether there were more than one L. Schwartzmann. But what caught my eye was the very last sentence of the Chess Note:
We can go no further for now, apart from throwing an additional
complication into the pot: page 38 of La Stratégie, February 1926
carried a report on a France v England correspondence match in
which a game was won by ‘Mlle Schwartzmann’.
Mr. Winter seemed unaware that Mlle. Schwartzmann could be no other than Paulette Schwartzmann, the French (and later Argentine) Women's Champion.
Even more curious than Mlle. Schwartzmann having been the women's champion of two countries is that she was originally from neither one. Born in Tal's home town of Riga, Latvia, she moved to France as a minor and earned the distinction of becoming the first, and only, foreign citizen to become the French Women's Champion (co-champion, at age 15, with Mlle. Frigard, 1925) . She became champion again after becoming a French citizen. In fact she would be the French Women's champion/co-champion a total of 8 times:
1925 Schwartzmann, Frigard
1927 Schwartzmann, Frigard
1928 Schwartzmann, D'Autremont
1929 Schwartzmann, D'Autremont
1931 Schwartzmann, Pape
1933 Schwartzmann, Tonini
1935 Schwartzmann
1938 Schwartzmann
In 1933, Schwartzmann participated in the 4th Women's World Chess Championship, played at Folkstone In 1933. Vera Menchik won, of course, but Schwartzman earned 6th place.
She played in the 7th Women's World Chess Championship in Buenos Aires in 1939. Again Menchik won while Schwartzmann shared 9th-10th place.
While in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Germany invaded Poland, starting WWII in Europe. Paulette Schwartzmann, who was a Jew, like many others chose to remain in Argentina. She became the Argentina Women's Champion three times between 1948-1953.
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