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Judit Polgár

May 04, 2023

The native form of this personal name is Polgár Judit. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Judit Polgár (born 23 July 1976) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster, widely regarded as the strongest female chess player of all time.[1] In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, at the time the youngest to have done so, breaking the record previously held by former World Champion Bobby Fischer. She was the youngest player ever to break into the FIDE top 100 players rating list, ranking No. 55 in the January 1989 rating list, at the age of 12.[2]

Judit Polgár
Polgár in 2013
CountryHungary
Born (1976-07-23) 23 July 1976 (age 46)
Budapest, Hungary
TitleGrandmaster (1991)
FIDE rating2675 (May 2023) [inactive since September 2015]
Peak rating2735 (July 2005)
Peak rankingNo. 8 (July 2004)
No. 1 woman (January 1989)

Polgár is the only woman to have been a serious candidate for the World Chess Championship, in which she participated in 2005; she had previously participated in large, 100+ player knockout tournaments for the world championship. She is also the only woman to have surpassed 2700 Elo, reaching a peak world ranking of No. 8 in 2004 and peak rating of 2735 in 2005.[3][4] She is the only woman to be ranked in the top ten of all chess players, first reaching that ranking in 1996. She was the No. 1 rated woman in the world from January 1989 until her retirement on 13 August 2014.[a]

She has won or shared first in the chess tournaments of Hastings 1993, Madrid 1994, León 1996, U.S. Open 1998, Hoogeveen 1999, Sigeman & Co 2000, Japfa 2000, and the Najdorf Memorial 2000.[5] Polgár is the only woman to have won a game against a reigning world number one player, and has defeated eleven current or former world champions in either rapid or classical chess: Magnus Carlsen, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, Vasily Smyslov, Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Ruslan Ponomariov, Alexander Khalifman, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov.[6]

On 13 August 2014, she announced her retirement from competitive chess.[7][8][9] In June 2015, Polgár was elected as the new captain and head coach of the Hungarian national men's team.[10] On 20 August 2015, she received Hungary's highest decoration, the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary.[11] In 2021, Polgár was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.[12]

Early life

Polgár was born on 23 July 1976 in Budapest, to a Hungarian-Jewish family.[13] Polgár and her two older sisters, Grandmaster Susan and International Master Sofia, were part of an educational experiment carried out by their father, László Polgár, in an attempt to prove that children could make exceptional achievements if trained in a specialist subject from a very early age.[14] "Geniuses are made, not born," was László's thesis. He and his wife Klára educated their three daughters at home, with chess as the specialist subject.[15] László also taught his three daughters the international language Esperanto. They received resistance from Hungarian authorities as home-schooling was not a "socialist" approach. They also received criticism at the time from some Western commentators for depriving the sisters of a normal childhood.

Traditionally, chess had been a male-dominated activity, and women were often seen as weaker players, thus advancing the idea of a Women's World Champion.[16] However, from the beginning, László was against the idea that his daughters had to participate in female-only events. "Women are able to achieve results similar, in fields of intellectual activities, to that of men," he wrote. "Chess is a form of intellectual activity, so this applies to chess. Accordingly, we reject any kind of discrimination in this respect."[17] This put the Polgárs in conflict with the Hungarian Chess Federation of the day, whose policy was for women to play in women-only tournaments. Polgár's older sister, Susan, first fought the bureaucracy by playing in men's tournaments and refusing to play in women's tournaments. In 1985, when she was a 15-year-old International Master, Susan said that it was due to this conflict that she had not been awarded the Grandmaster title despite having made the norm eleven times.[18]

Career

Polgár rarely played in women-specific tournaments or divisions and has never competed for the Women's World Championship: "I always say that women should have the self-confidence that they are as good as male players, but only if they are willing to work and take it seriously as much as male players."[19] While László Polgár has been credited with being an excellent chess coach,[20] the Polgárs had also employed professional chessplayers to train their daughters, including Hungarian champion IM Tibor Florian, GM Pal Benko, and Russian GM Alexander Chernin.[21][22][23] Susan Polgár, the eldest of the sisters, 5½ years older than Sophia and 7 years older than Judit, was the first of the sisters to achieve prominence in chess by winning tournaments, and by 1986, she was the world's top-rated female chess player.[24][25][26] Initially, being the youngest, Judit was separated from her sisters while they were in training. However, this only served to increase Judit's curiosity. After learning the rules, they discovered Judit was able to find solutions to the problems they were studying, and she began to be invited into the group.[27] One evening, Susan was studying an endgame with their trainer, a strong International Master. Unable to find the solution, they woke Judit, who was asleep in bed and carried her into the training room. Still half asleep, Judit showed them how to solve the problem, after which they put her back to bed.[14] László Polgár's experiment would produce a family of one international master and two grandmasters and would strengthen the argument for nurture over nature, as well as prove women could be chess grandmasters.[28]

Child prodigy

Trained in her early years by her sister Susan, who ultimately became Women's World Champion, Judit Polgár was a chess prodigy from an early age. At age 5, she defeated a family friend without looking at the board. After the game, the friend joked: "You are good at chess, but I'm a good cook." Judit replied: "Do you cook without looking at the stove?"[29] However, according to Susan, Judit was not the sister with the most talent, explaining: "Judit was a slow starter, but very hard-working."[30] Polgár described herself at that age as "obsessive" about chess.[31] She first defeated an International Master, Dolfi Drimer, at age 10 and a grandmaster, Lev Gutman, at age 11.[32][33]

Polgár vs. V. Metodiev,
Albena 1986
abcdefgh
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1.Rxh7 Rxh7 2.Qxg6+ Kh8 3.Qe8+ with mate to follow. Polgár was 10 years old.[34][35]
This example uses algebraic notation.

Judit started playing in tournaments at 6 years old, and by age 9 her rating with the Hungarian Chess Federation was 2080. She was a member of a chess club in Budapest, where she would get experience from master level players.[36] In 1984 in Budapest, Sophia and Judit, at the time 9 and 7 years of age, respectively, played two games of blindfold chess against two masters, which they won. At one point the girls complained that one of their opponents was playing too slowly and suggested a clock should be used.[37]

In April 1986, 9-year-old Judit played in her first rated tournament in the U.S., finishing first in the unrated section of the New York Open, winning US$1,000.[38] All three Polgár sisters competed. Susan, 16, competed in the grandmaster section and had a victory against GM Walter Browne, and Sophia, 11, finished second in her section, but Judit gathered most of the attention in the tournament. Grandmasters would drop by to watch the serious, quiet child playing.[36] She won her first seven games before drawing the final game. Although the unrated section had many of the weaker players in the Open, it also had players of expert strength who were foreign to the United States and had not been rated yet. Milorad Boskovic related a conversation with Judit's sixth-round opponent, a Yugoslav player he knew to be a strong expert: "He told me he took some chances in the game because he couldn't believe she was going to attack so well."[39] Not able to speak English, her mother interpreted as she told a reporter her goal was to be a chess professional. When the reporter asked her if she would be world champion one day, Judit answered: "I will try."[36]

In late 1986, 10-year-old Judit defeated 52-year-old Romanian IM Dolfi Drimer in the Adsteam Lidums International Tournament in Adelaide, Australia. Edmar Mednis said he played his best game of the tournament in beating Judit: "I was careful in that game... Grandmasters don't like to lose to 10-year-old girls, because then we make the front page of all the papers."[40]

In April 1988, Polgár made her first International Master norm in the International B section of the New York Open.[41] In August 1988, she won the under-12 "Boys" section of the World Youth Chess and Peace Festival in Timișoara, Romania.[42][43] In October 1988, she finished first in a 10-player round-robin tournament in London, scoring 7–2, for a half point lead over Israeli GM Yair Kraidman.[44] With these three results, she completed the requirements for the International Master title; at the time, she was the youngest player ever to have achieved this distinction.[45] Both Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov were 14 when they were awarded the title; Polgár was 12.[46] It was during this time that former World Champion Mikhail Tal said Polgár had the potential to win the men's World Championship.[47]

 
Judit with sister Sofia at Thessaloniki 1988

Judit was asked about playing against boys instead of in the girls' section of tournaments: "These other girls are not serious about chess... I practice five or six hours a day, but they get distracted by cooking and work around the house."[46]

In November 1988, Judit and her sisters, along with Ildikó Mádl, represented Hungary in the Women's section of the 28th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki. The International Chess Federation would not permit the Polgárs to play against men in team competitions.[48] Prior to the tournament, Eduard Gufeld, Soviet GM and team coach for the Soviet women's team, dismissed the Polgárs: "I believe that these girls are going to lose a good part of their quickly acquired image in the 28th Olympiad... Afterward we are going to know if the Hungarian sisters are geniuses or just women!"[49] However, the Hungarian women's team won the championship, which marked the first time it was not won by the Soviet Union. Judit played board 2 and finished the tournament with the highest score of 12½–½ to win the individual gold medal.[50] She also won the brilliancy prize for her game against Pavlina Angelova.[51]

In the January 1989 Elo rating list, at the age of 12, she was rated 2555, which was number 55 in the world and 35 rating points ahead of the Women's World Champion Maia Chiburdanidze. In the six months since the previous list, she had gained a remarkable 190 rating points.[52][53] Judit's quiet and modest demeanour at the board[54] contrasted with the intensity of her playing style. David Norwood, British GM, in recalling Judit beating him when he was an established player and she was just a child, described her as "this cute little auburn-haired monster who crushed you."[55] British journalist Dominic Lawson wrote about 12-year-old Judit's "killer" eyes and how she would stare at her opponent: "The irises are so grey, so dark they are almost indistinguishable from the pupils. Set against her long red hair, the effect is striking."[56]

Before age 13, she had broken into the top 100 players in the world and the British Chess Magazine declared: "Judit Polgár's recent results make the performances of Fischer and Kasparov at a similar age pale by comparison."[29] British GM Nigel Short called Judit "one of the three or four greatest chess prodigies in history".[57] However, Kasparov expressed early doubts: "She has fantastic chess talent, but she is, after all, a woman. It all comes down to the imperfections of the feminine psyche. No woman can sustain a prolonged battle."[57] Later in life, however, after he had lost a rapid game against Polgár himself in 2002, Kasparov revised his opinion: "The Polgárs showed that there are no inherent limitations to their aptitude—an idea that many male players refused to accept until they had unceremoniously been crushed by a twelve-year-old with a ponytail."[58]

In 1989, Polgár tied with Boris Gelfand for third in the OHRA Open in Amsterdam, earning her first Grandmaster norm.[59][60]

By now, numerous books and articles had been written about the Polgár sisters, making them famous even outside of the world of chess. In 1989, American President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara met with the Polgárs during their visit to Hungary.[37] Although not released until 1996, in 1990 a documentary about children playing chess, Chess Kids, featuring Polgár, was filmed. The documentary did not include an interview with Polgár as her father required payment.[61][62]

In 1990, Judit won the Boys section of the under-14 in the World Youth Chess Festival in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.[63] Also in 1990, Judit and her sisters represented Hungary in the Women's Olympiad, winning the gold medal. It was the last women-only tournament in which Judit would ever participate.[24]

In October 1991, Judit finished with 5½–3½, tied for third for fifth position with Zoltán Ribli and John Nunn, at a tournament in Vienna.[64][65]

Grandmaster

In December 1991, Polgár achieved the grandmaster title by winning the Hungarian National Championship, at the time the youngest ever at 15 years, 5 months to have achieved the title. This beat Fischer's record by a month.[54][66] This made her both the first woman to be the youngest-ever grandmaster and the fourth woman to become a grandmaster (after Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze and Polgar's sister Susan).[54] With this, Polgar also beat her sister Susan's record for youngest-ever female grandmaster, obtained earlier in January 1991, by over 7 years. Hungary, one of the strongest chess-playing countries, had all but one of their strongest players participate in that year's championship, as only Zoltán Ribli was missing. Going into the last round, Polgár needed only a draw to achieve the GM title, but she won her game against GM Tibor Tolnai to finish first, with six points in nine games.[67]

In 1992, Polgár tied for second, behind Anatoly Karpov at the Madrid International in Linares. She and Russian GM Vladimir Epishin finished with 5½–3½.[68] In July 1992, she placed second in the Reshevsky Memorial in Manhattan finishing with four wins, five draws and no losses.[69] In September 1992, Polgár participated in a tournament held in Aruba in which a team of senior men's players competed against a team of top women players. The men's team consisted of Lev Polugaevsky, Wolfgang Uhlmann, Oscar Panno, Efim Geller, Borislav Ivkov and Vasily Smyslov. The women's team consisted of Judit and Zsuzsa Polgár, Pia Cramling, Chiburdanidze, Ketevan Arakhamia and Alisa Galliamova. The men won the tournament 39–33. The overall high scorer was Polugaevsky, 57 years old with Polgár, 16, finishing second with 7½–4½.[70]

 
In 1993, Polgár defeated former World Champion Boris Spassky (pictured here in 1984) in an exhibition match.

Polgár then tied for first in the Hastings tournament held over New Year's, 1992–93. Russian GM Evgeny Bareev, at the time ranked eighth in the world, led going into tournament's last round, but was defeated by Polgár in their second individual game, allowing her to share first.[71] Immediately following the Hastings tournament, Polgár played an exhibition match in February against former World Champion, Boris Spassky. She won the match 5½–4½ and won $110,000, the largest prize money to that point in her career.[72] Polgár also participated in the Melody Amber tournament in Monaco which featured a blindfold tournament of 12 grandmasters. Anand and Karpov finished first, Ljubojević third, while Polgár finished in clear fourth with 6½ points from 11 rounds, ahead of other strong GMs such as Ivanchuk, Short, Korchnoi and her sister Susan.[73][74]

In 1993, Polgár became the first woman to ever qualify for an Interzonal tournament. In March, she finished in a four-way tie for second place in the Budapest Zonal and won the tiebreaking tournament.[75][76][77] She then confirmed her status as one of the world's leading players, narrowly failing to qualify for the Candidates Tournaments at the rival FIDE and PCA Interzonal tournaments.[78][79]

In the summer of 1993, Bobby Fischer stayed for a time in the Polgár household. He had been living in seclusion in Yugoslavia due to an arrest warrant issued by the United States for violating the U.N. blockade of Yugoslavia with his 1992 match against Spassky. Susan Polgár met Bobby with her family and persuaded him to come out of hiding "in a cramped hotel room in a small Yugoslavian village".[80] During his stay, he played many games of Fischer Random Chess and helped the sisters analyse their games. Susan said, while he was friendly on a personal level and recalled mostly pleasant moments as their guest, there were conflicts due to his political views. On the suggestion of a friend of Fischer, a match of blitz chess between Fischer and Polgár was arranged and announced to the press. However, problems ensued between Fischer and László Polgár and Fischer cancelled the match, telling a friend who asked if the match would take place, "No, they're Jewish."[80][81][82]

In the summer of 1994, Polgár had the greatest success of her career to that point, when she won the Madrid International in Spain. Against a field which included Gata Kamsky, Evgeny Bareev, Valery Salov and Ivan Sokolov, she finished 7–2 and 1½ points ahead of second place.[83][84] Her performance rating for the tournament was 2778 against an opposition rated at 2672.[85]

In October 1994, she played in a tournament in Buenos Aires which was a tribute to an ailing Polugaevsky. Eight grandmasters participated, all considered contenders for the world championship: Karpov, Anand, Salov, Ivanchuk, Kamsky, Shirov, Ljubojević and Polgár. The tournament was unusual as Black in each game was required to play a Sicilian Defence, since Polugaevsky was considered the all-time authority on the opening.[86] This was to Polgár's advantage as it was her favourite. Against the elite competition she finished tied for third with Ivanchuk.[87][88]

In September 1995, Polgár finished third with a score of 7–4 in the Donner Memorial in Amsterdam, behind Jan Timman and Julio Granda Zuniga, who tied for first, and ahead of Yasser Seirawan, Alexander Huzman, Alexei Shirov, Alexander Khalifman, Alexander Morozevich and Valery Salov.[89] She secured a clear third place with a 21-move win over Shirov in her last game.[90][91] In the Antillean island of Aruba in November 1995, she played in a friendly match against Jeroen Piket of the Netherlands, at the time one of the top players in Europe. Despite being closely matched in ratings, Polgár won the match 6–2.[92]

 
Lewis chessmen

In 1995, the Isle of Lewis chess club in Scotland attempted to arrange a game between Polgár and Nigel Short in which the famous Lewis chessmen would be used. The Lewis chessmen is a chess set carved in the 12th century. However, the British Museum refused to release the set despite assurances that the players would wear gloves. Scottish member of parliament Calum MacDonald pointed out that the set would be safe, especially as chess was not a contact sport.[93] In the end, the Museum allowed the chess set to be displayed at the Isle of Lewis festival tournament, but they were not used in any games. Polgár won the double round-robin tournament of four GMs, scoring five points in the six games and winning both her games against Short.[94][95]

Kasparov touch-move controversy

Polgár vs. Kasparov, Linares 1994
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The position before the move in question. Allegedly, Kasparov played 36...Nc5?, which loses the exchange to 37.Bc6, quickly realised his error, and substituted 36...Nf8.
This example uses algebraic notation.

At Linares 1994, Polgár lost a controversial game to the World Champion Garry Kasparov. The tournament marked the first time the 17-year-old Polgár was invited to compete with the world's strongest players. After four games she had two points.[96] During her game with Kasparov in the fifth round, Kasparov gradually outplayed her and had a clear advantage after 35 moves.[97] On his 36th move, the World Champion reportedly changed his mind about the move of a knight, and moved the piece to a different square.[98][99] According to chess rules, once a player has released a piece, the move must stand, so if Kasparov did remove his hand, he should have been required to play his original move. Polgár did not challenge Kasparov in the moment, because, she stated, "I was playing the World Champion and didn't want to cause unpleasantness during my first invitation to such an important event. I was also afraid that if my complaint was overruled I would be penalized on the clock when we were in time pressure." She did, however, look questioningly at the arbiter, Carlos Falcon, who witnessed the incident and took no action.[97]

The incident was caught on tape by a crew from the Spanish television company PVS, and the videotape showed that Kasparov's fingers had left the knight.[100][101][102] Tournament director Carlos Falcon did not forfeit Kasparov when this evidence was made available to him.[103] As U.S. chess journalist Shelby Lyman pointed out, in the majority of sports "instant replays" do not overrule a referee's original decision and chess is no exception.[101] At the time the video had not been publicly released, at the request of tournament sponsor Luis Rentero.,[97] but it is now available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw4g3iDrsNk. At one point Polgár reportedly confronted Kasparov in the hotel bar, asking him, "How could you do this to me?"[104] Following this incident, Kasparov bluntly told an interviewer "... she just publicly said I was cheating. ... I think a girl of her age should be taught some good manners before making such statements."[105] Subsequently, Kasparov refused to speak to her for three years.[97] Kasparov told reporters that his conscience was clear, as he was not aware of his hand leaving the piece.[106] Although Polgár recovered by the end of the tournament, she went into a slump over the next six rounds, gaining only half a point.[96] The incident may also have had an effect on Kasparov, who turned out a subpar performance in the tournament.[101]

Strongest female player ever

Polgár is generally considered the strongest female chess player of all time.[1] In January 1996, she became the only woman ever to be ranked in the top ten of all chess players.[107] In August 1996, she participated in a very strong 10-player tournament in Vienna. There was a three-way tie for first between Karpov, Topalov and Boris Gelfand and a three-way tie for fourth between Kramnik, Polgár and Lékó.[108][109] In December 1996, Polgár played a match in São Paulo against Brazil's champion Gilbert Milos. The four games were played at 30 moves an hour with 30 minutes for the remainder of the game. Polgár won two, drew one and lost one and won $12,000 in prize money.[110]

In February 1997, she played in the Linares "supertournament" which Kasparov won by edging out Kramnik. Polgár finished in clear fifth position in the 12-GM tournament, ahead of Anand, Ivanchuk, Gelfand and Shirov.[111][112] Her result was considered exceptional considering the strength of the tournament, average 2701, and she was praised for her tactical skills in her game against Ivanchuk.[113] In April 1997, she played in the Dos Hermanas Chess tournament, a single-round robin category XIX event of 10 of the world's best players. She finished in sixth place with an even score of 4½–4½.[114][115] In June 1997, she finished with an even score, 4½–4½, in the Madrid 10-player GM tournament won by Topalov.[116] In July 1997, Polgár competed in the elite Dortmund International Tournament. She finished in fifth in the strong field of ten, ahead of players such as Anatoly Karpov.[117] In the tournament, she won playing with the black pieces against Veselin Topalov, at the time ranked fourth in the world. Topalov had the advantage until Polgár executed a deep positional sacrifice.[118] In October 1997, she tied for second in a double round-robin tournament of four grandmasters in the VAM International Tournament in Hoogeveen, the Netherlands.[119]

"There has long been a lively debate about who is the strongest player of all", wrote GM Robert Byrne in his New York Times column of 26 August 1997. "Prominent candidates are Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Jose Raul Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine or Emanuel Lasker. But there is no argument about the greatest female player: she is 21-year-old Judit Polgár."[117]

 
In 1998 Polgár defeated Anatoly Karpov in a match of "action" chess (30 minutes per game). At the time Karpov was FIDE World Champion.

In January 1998, she played in the category XVII event, the Hoogovens in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, in which 14 of the world's top grandmasters participated. She finished in the middle of the pack, tied for sixth–tenth position with Karpov, Topalov and Jeroen Piket and an even score of 6½ points in thirteen games. Polgár handed co-winner Vishwanathan Anand his only loss of the tournament.[120][121] In June 1998 in Budapest, Polgár played an eight-game match of "action" chess, which is 30 minutes for the entire game, against Anatoly Karpov. She won the match 5–3 by winning two games with the remaining ending in draws. At the time Karpov was the FIDE World Champion.[122] In August 1998, Polgár became the first woman to ever win the U.S. Open, which was held at the Kona Surf Resort in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She shared the tournament victory with GM Boris Gulko as each scored 8–1. Typical of her aggressive style was her victory against GM Georgi Kacheishvili in which she sacrificed her queen for the attack.[123] In October 1998, Polgár won the VAM four-grandmaster tournament in Hoogeveen, Netherlands by 1½ points over Jan Timman.[124][125] In November 1998, Polgár played in the Wydra Memorial Rapid chess tournament in Israel. She tied for first with Viswanathan Anand as both scored 11½ out of the 14 games. Anand won the tournament in a tie-break game over Polgár.[126]

In the two years since Polgár became the first woman to ever break into the top 10, her rating had dropped. Although she was in the top 20, this had the effect of her being invited less frequently to the strongest tournaments.[124]

In October 1999, Polgár participated in the four-player GM section of the VAM Chess tournament in Hoogeveen, Netherlands. Jan Timman led early in the tournament, but Polgár staged a comeback scoring 3 points in the last 4 games to share first place. Anatoly Karpov finished in third and Darmen Sadvakasov fourth.[127]

In January 2000, Polgár had, for her, a disappointing result in a tournament in Pamplona, Spain, which was won by Nigel Short. She finished with only 4 points from 9 games, tied for 6–7 place with Jan Timman, who had also played below his rating.[128] Polgár had another disappointing result later in the month in the category XVIII tournament in Corus Wijk aan Zee which was won by Kasparov. She did not win a game until the 11th round and finished with 5 points in 13 games, tied with Victor Korchnoi for 11–12 position among the fourteen GMs.[129] However, in the European Teams Championship in Batumi, Georgia, also in January, she won the gold medal playing Board 2, scoring 6½–2½.[130]

In April and May 2000, Polgár won one of the strongest tournaments ever held in Asia. The Japfa Classic in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, was a category XVI event of 10 players which included Alexander Khalifman–at the time FIDE world champion– and Anatoly Karpov–his predecessor.[131] Going into the last round four players, Polgár, Khalifman, Karpov and Gilberto Milos were tied, but Polgár won her game over Brazilian GM Milos while Khalifman and Karpov played against each other in a draw. Polgár finished clear first with 6½–2½, winning the $20,000 first place prize money.[132][133][134] At the end of May, she won the Sigeman & Company International Tournament in Malmö, Sweden. She finished the four-player double round-robin tournament scoring 4 points, with Jan Timman at 3½ with Ulf Andersson and Tiger Hillarp-Persson finishing in that order.[135] In June 2000, she played in the GM Tournament Mérida, State of Yucatán, finishing in second place a half point behind Alexei Shirov.[136] In September 2000, she shared first place in the Najdorf Chess Festival with Viktor Bologan, ahead of Nigel Short and Anatoly Karpov.[136] In October and November, she represented Hungary playing board 3 in the 34th Chess Olympiad. While the Hungarian team narrowly missed winning the bronze medal, Polgár finished 10/13 for the second highest points total of any player in the Olympiad[137] and a rated performance level of 2772.[138]

In late February and early March 2001, Polgár played in the elite Linares double round-robin invitational of six of the world's strongest players. The tournament was Kasparov's triumph as he scored 7½ points in 10 games. The other five participants, Polgár, Karpov, Shirov, Grischuk and Lékó all finished with 4½ for second and last position. However, Polgár drew both her games with Kasparov, the first time in her career she had done this under tournament time controls.[139][140][141][142] In March 2001, she reached the semifinals of the World Cup rapid play tournament in Cannes. She made it to the final four from the 16 grandmasters in the tournament. She lost the semifinal match to Evgeny Bareev, who in turn lost to Kasparov. In a quarterfinal playoff blitz game, she forced Joël Lautier, France's strongest player, to resign in 12 moves when she won his queen which resulted in the audience of several hundred bursting into applause.[143] In June 2001, Polgár finished fourth in the European Championship in Ohrid, Macedonia, a 13-round Swiss-system tournament of 143 Grandmasters and 38 IMs.[144] In October 2001, she tied for first with GM Loek van Wely in the Essent Tourney in Hoogeveen, the Netherlands.[145]

Making history

In September 2002, in the Russia versus the Rest of the World Match, Polgár finally defeated Garry Kasparov in a game. The tournament was played under rapid rules with 25 minutes per game and a 10-second bonus increment per move. She won the game with exceptional positional play. Kasparov with black chose the Berlin Defence instead of his usual Sicilian, and Polgár proceeded with a line which Kasparov has used himself. Polgár was able to attack with her rooks on Kasparov's king, which was still in the centre of the board, and when he was two pawns down, Kasparov resigned.[146] The game helped the World team win the match 52–48.[147] Upon resigning, Kasparov immediately left by a passageway barred to journalists and photographers. Kasparov had once described Polgár as a "circus puppet" and asserted that women chess players should stick to having children. Polgár called the game "one of the most remarkable moments of [her] career".[104] The game was historic as it was the first time in chess history that a female player beat the world's No. 1 player in competitive play.[148] An interview with Polgár including video of the match was included in the BBC Witness radio program in 2016.[149]

In October and November 2002, Polgár played on second board (with Péter Lékó on first) for Hungary in the 35th Chess Olympiad. While not having the stunning performance as she had in the 2000 Olympiad, she helped Hungary attain the silver medal for the event. While the Hungarians had the best win–loss record of the tournament as a team and lost only a single game of the 56 they played, they had won most of their matches by 2½–1½ scores, while the Russian team won gold as they piled up the points. However, Hungary gave the gold-winning Russian team its only defeat. Polgár's fourth-round game against Azerbaijan's Shakhriyar Mamedyarov included a brilliant 12.Nxf7, drawing his king into the center of the board.[150][151]

By early 2003, Polgár had worked her way back into the top 10 rated players in the world.[152][153] In 2003, Polgár scored one of her best results: an undefeated clear second place in the Category XIX Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, just a half-point behind future World Champion Viswanathan Anand and a full point ahead of then-world champion Vladimir Kramnik. One of the highlight games of the tournament was Polgár's fourth round crushing victory over Anatoly Karpov. She played a novelty in the opening which she devised over the board. The game lasted 33 moves with Karpov down two pawns and his king exposed. Polgár admitted to "enjoying herself" by the end of the game.[154] In April 2003, Polgár finished second in The Hunguest Hotels Super Tournament in Budapest behind Nigel Short. She appeared headed for a first-place victory in the tournament, but lost her game against compatriot Péter Lékó.[155][156][157] In June 2003, Polgár finished tied for third with Boris Gelfand, in the Enghien-les-Bains International Tournament in France, scoring 5½–3½, behind Evgeny Bareev who won the tournament and GM Michael Adams.[158] In August 2003, Polgár played an eight-game rapid chess match in Mainz, Germany against Viswanathan Anand, billed as the "Battle of the Sexes". After six games each player had won three games. Anand won the final two games to win the match.[159][160] In October 2003, Polgár won the 4–grandmaster Essent tournament in Hoogeveen, Netherlands. In one of her games against Karpov, he blundered, allowing Polgár to utilize a famous double bishop sacrifice first employed by Emanuel Lasker against Bauer in 1889.[161][162][163][164]

In 2004, Polgár took some time off from chess to give birth to her son, Olivér. She was consequently considered inactive and not listed on the January 2005 FIDE rating list. Her sister Susan reactivated her playing status during this period, and temporarily became the world's No. 1 ranked women's player again.[165]

Polgár returned to chess at the prestigious Corus chess tournament on 15 January 2005. The tournament, which was now considered by some as the most important in Europe, was won by fellow Hungarian Péter Lékó while Polgár scored 7/13 to tie for fourth with Alexander Grischuk, Michael Adams and Kramnik.[166] She was therefore relisted in the April 2005 FIDE rating list, gaining a few rating points for her better-than-par performance at Corus. In May she also had a better-than-par performance at a strong tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, finishing third.[167] This brought her to her highest ever rating, 2735, in the July 2005 FIDE list and enabled her to retain her spot as the eighth ranked player in the world.[168][169]

In September 2005, Polgár once again made history as she became the first woman to play in the final stages of the World Chess Championship qualification; she had previously participated in large, 100+ player knockout tournaments for the world championship, but this was a small 8-player invitational. However, she performed poorly, coming last of the eight competitors.[170] However, in her game against Veselin Topalov, Polgár pushed the eventual tournament winner and world champion to a seven-hour marathon before succumbing.[171]

She did not play at the 2006 Linares tournament because she was pregnant again. On 6 July 2006, she gave birth to a girl, Hanna.

Polgár participated in the FIDE world blitz championship on 5–7 September 2006 in Rishon Le Zion, Israel. Blitz chess is played with each player having only 5 minutes for all moves. The round-robin tournament of 16 of some of the strongest players in the world, concluded with Alexander Grischuk finally edging out Peter Svidler in a tie-break to win the tournament. Polgár finished tied for fifth/sixth place, winning $5,625 for the three-day tournament.[172][173] Polgár tied with Boris Gelfand with 9½ points and won her individual game against Viswanathan Anand, at the time the world's No. 2 player.[174] In October 2006, Polgár scored another excellent result: tied for first place in the Essent Chess Tournament, Hoogeveen, the Netherlands.[175] She scored 4½ out of 6 in a double round-robin tournament that included two wins against the world's top-rated player, Veselin Topalov. In December 2006, Polgár played a six-game match of blindfold rapid chess against former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov. Topalov won the match 3½–2½ with two wins to Polgár's one.[176] Nearly 1,000 spectators attended the event.[177]

In May–June 2007 she played in the Candidates Tournament for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007. She was eliminated in the first round, losing 3½–2½ to Evgeny Bareev. Some chess pundits said she was "poorly prepared" for the tournament; she had played less chess in the last three years as she gave birth to her two children. However, she was still credited with the most beautiful attack of the tournament in her fifth game victory.[178] In July 2007, Polgár played in the Biel Chess Festival which was won by 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen. Polgár finished the 9 round tournament at 5–4 in a four-way tie for third to sixth place.[179][180] A highlight game for her was actually a draw. Polgár was playing an endgame of knight against knight and two connected passed pawns of Alexander Grischuk, but she was able to eliminate both pawns.[181][182] In October 2007, Polgár played in the Blindfold World Cup in Bilbao, Spain. Polgár finished in fourth place of the six players with three wins, four losses, and three draws. The tournament was won by Bu Xiangzhi of China, whose only loss was to Polgár.[183][184][185] In November 2007, she took part in Chess Champions League – Playing for a Better World in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain a tournament to raise funds for equipment for a Hospital in Mbuji-Mayi, DR Congo. Polgár finished tied for third in the strong six-player tournament and handed tournament winner Veselin Topalov his only loss.[186][187]

In January 2008 she competed in the strong Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament, scoring a respectable 6/13 and tied 9–11 in the 14 player tournament.[188] In November 2008, Polgár had a terrible result in The World Chess Blitz Championship in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan, finished last of the 16 players with only 2½ points.[189] In November 2008, Polgár played the number 2 board for the Hungarian open ("men's") team in the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden, finishing 3½/8.

In November 2009, Polgár participated in the FIDE World Cup at Khanty Mansiysk in Siberia. Polgár made it to the third round of the knockout tournament until she was eliminated by tournament winner Boris Gelfand. She handed Gelfand his only loss of the tournament.[190]

Return to competition

In 2010, Polgár began her return to competitive chess and would play more than she had in recent years. In March 2010, Polgár played a four-game match against GM Gregory Kaidanov at Hilton Head, South Carolina. It was required that each game begin with the Sicilian Defense. The match was drawn with each player winning two games.[191][192] In April 2010, Polgár played an eight-game rapid chess match against Czech GM David Navara which was part of the ČEZ Chess Trophy 2010 festival of the Prague Chess Society. Despite slightly higher ranking, 2708 to Polgár's 2682, Navara lost the match 6–2.[193] Polgár participated in the rapid chess tournament of the Presidential Chess Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan from 29 April to 1 May 2010. She finished with one win, two losses and four draws, tied for fifth position in the eight-player round robin. The tournament finished with a three-way tie for first with the winner, Kramnik, being decided by Elo over Mamedyarov and Kamsky.[194] In June 2010, it was reported Polgár was assisting GM Zoltán Almási in training for the Olympiad.[195]

In September and October 2010, Polgár played 3rd board for the Hungarian Men's team in the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The team finished in fourth place, losing the Bronze medal to Israel on tie-break. Playing more in 2010 than in recent years, Polgár finished fourth overall among Board three players with a 6/10 score.[196] The highlight for the Hungarian Men's team was a fifth-round victory over Russia I.[197] In November 2010, Polgár won the four-player rapid tournament which was held to celebrate the National University of Mexico's 100th anniversary. Polgár won a close opening match against Vassily Ivanchuk. She then crushed Veselin Topalov, a former world champion and ranked No. 1 in the world in 2009, 3½–½ to win the tournament.[198][199][200]

Polgár vs. Edouard,
European Ch., Aix-les-Bains 2011
abcdefgh
8
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Position after 35...h6. In an apparent draw, Polgár finds the winning move: 36.h5! threatening to place a pawn on g6. The game continued: 36...Rg8 37.Rd7 Rg7 38.Bf7 1–0[201][202]
This example uses algebraic notation.

On 2 April 2011, Polgár finished in a four-way tie for first in the European Individual Chess Championship in Aix-les-Bains, France.[203] The tournament, featuring 393 players of which 167 were Grandmasters, was won by Russian Vladimir Potkin on tie-break; GM Radosław Wojtaszek won the silver, while Polgár placed third, winning the bronze.[204] Polgár was praised for her creative attacks and endgame technique.[205] Polgár became the first woman ever to finish in the top three of the male championship.[206] Continuing Polgár's return to competitive chess, in July 2011 she participated in the 39th Greek Team National Championship, scoring 3½ out of 4 games. Also in July 2011, Polgár played Board 3 for Hungary in the World Team Championships. Hungary finished in fifth place of the ten teams and individually Polgár finished sixteenth of the fifty players.[207]

In September 2011, Polgár competed in the Chess World Cup, a 128-player tournament with a large prize fund and qualification to the top three for the World Championship cycle. Polgár made it to the final 8 players before she was eliminated by Peter Svidler. A highlight for Polgár was her elimination of the tournament's No. 1 seed and world's fifth highest rated player, Sergey Karjakin.[208][209][210] In October 2011, Polgár took part in the Unive 2011 competition. She finished last in the elite four-player Crown group, losing games to Vladimir Kramnik and Anish Giri.[211]

In September 2011, Polgár finally returned to "Super GM" status with a FIDE rating of 2701 and by November she had raised it to 2710 and ranked 35 in the world.[212][213]

To begin 2012, in January Polgár competed in the Tradewise Gibraltar tournament, finishing with 7 points in 10 games. For the first time in 22 years since she lost to Nona Gaprindashvili in the 1990 Chess Olympiad, Polgár lost a classical game to a female player[214] as Women's World champion Hou Yifan won their individual game and tied for first before losing the playoff to Nigel Short.[215][216] In 2013, Polgár received the FIDE Caïssa Award, as Polgár was considered the best female player of 2012. This award, designed and executed by artisans of the Lobortas Classic Jewelry House, was presented on 2 October 2013 during the 84th FIDE Congress in Tallinn.

On 5 October 2013,[217] Polgár played Nigel Short in the eighteenth edition of Chess.com's Death Match. The final score was 17½-10½ in Polgár's favour. They played 28 games in total, separated into three stages of increasingly faster time controls, the first being 5+1, the second 3+1 and finally 1+1. Polgár later remarked on her Facebook page that "it was great fun to play against Nigel..."[218] Nigel in turn tweeted in jest, "Such bad chess. I should go and hang myself..."[219]

In 2014, in the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship, she came 26th in the Blitz championship and 56th in the Rapid championship.

On 13 August 2014, she announced in the London newspaper The Times her retirement from chess at the highest level.[220]

Playing style

While having a strong understanding of positional play, Polgár excels in tactics and is known for an aggressive playing style, striving to maximize the initiative and actively pursuing complications.[221] The former World Champion Garry Kasparov wrote that, based upon her games, "if to 'play like a girl' meant anything in chess, it would mean relentless aggression."[222] In her youth, she was especially popular with chess fans due to her willingness to employ wild gambits and attacks.[223] As a teenager, Polgár has been credited with contributing to the popularity of the opening variation King's Bishop's Gambit.[224] Polgár prefers aggressive openings, playing 1.e4 as White and the Sicilian or King's Indian Defence with black, but she has also said her opening choices will also depend upon her trainer.[23][221][225] Jennifer Shahade, writer and two-time U.S. women's chess champion, suggested that the influence of Polgár as a role model may be one of the reasons women play more aggressive chess than men.[226] Describing an individual encounter with Polgár, former U.S. Champion Joel Benjamin said, "It was all-out war for five hours. I was totally exhausted. She is a tiger at the chessboard. She absolutely has a killer instinct. You make one mistake and she goes right for the throat."[227]

Polgár is especially adept at faster time controls. When she was still young, Der Spiegel wrote of her, "her tactical thunderstorms during blitz games have confounded many opponents, who are rated higher."[47]

Polgár has spoken of appreciating the psychological aspect of chess. She has stated preferring to learn an opponent's style so she can play intentionally against him or her rather than playing "objective" chess.[228] In her 2002 victory (at 25 minutes time control) over Kasparov, she deliberately chose a line Kasparov had used against Vladimir Kramnik, employing the strategy of forcing the opponent to "play against himself". Kasparov's response was inadequate and he soon found himself in an inferior position.[146][failed verification] In an interview regarding playing against computers she said, "Chess is 30 to 40% psychology. You don't have this when you play a computer. I can't confuse it."[229]

Chess professional

 
Polgár at the 2008 Mainz Chess Classic

"You have to be very selfish sometimes", said Polgár in speaking of the life of a professional chess player. "If you are in a tournament, you have to think of yourself—you can't think of your wife or children—only about yourself."[143] When asked in 2002 if she still desired to win the world championship she said, "Chess is my profession and of course I hope to improve. But I'm not going to give up everything to become world champion; I have my life."[55]

Polgár has said she does not have a permanent coach although she does have help from GM Lev Psakhis or GM Mihail Marin.[27][230] She said she rarely uses a second and when she travels to tournaments it is usually her husband who accompanies her.[231][232] Polgár said she has changed how she prepares for tournaments. "I make more use of my experience now and try to work more efficiently so that my efforts aren't wasted", she said in 2008.[233]

Concentrating on her two children left Polgár with little time to train and play competitively and her ranking dropped from eighth in 2005 to the mid 50s in 2009. She played in the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel and was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Games.[234][235] However, as of September 2010 Polgár remained the only woman in the top 100 and still the only woman to have ever made the top 10.[236] Comparing motherhood to playing chess, Polgár has said that a chess tournament now "feels like a vacation".[27] When asked why she came back to chess after taking time off to care for her children, she said, "I cannot live without chess! It is an integral part of my life. I enjoy the game!"[230]

Despite being the highest-rated woman for twenty-five years, Polgár never competed for the women's world championship. In a 2011 interview she was asked about this possibility. Polgár said that in the past she has never been interested in competing for it, but in recent years "the mentality of a couple of the women players has changed". Polgár said that for her to consider competing it would have to be a challenge and "if I get an extremely nice offer just to play for the title".[231][232]

Polgár authored a series of children's books on chess, Chess Playground. Her sister Sofia provided illustrations.[237]

In March 2013 she was awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of The Hungarian Order of Merit, one of Hungary's highest awards, "for her worldwide acknowledged life achievement as an athlete, for promoting the game of chess and for her efforts to promote the educational benefits of chess".[238][239] In August 2015, she received The Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, the highest state Order of Hungary.[240]

Personal life

In August 2000, Polgár married Hungarian veterinary surgeon Gusztáv Font.[143][241] They have two children, a boy named Olivér (born 2004) and a girl named Hanna (born 2006).[242][243] While Judit remained in Hungary, her sisters and parents eventually emigrated: Sofia to Israel, Susan to the United States, and her parents to Israel and the United States.[55]

Several members of Polgár's family were murdered in the Holocaust; her grandmother was a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp.[244]

Notable games

  • J. Polgár vs. V. Anand, Dos Hermanas 1999 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation. Delayed Keres Attack Perenyi Gambit (B90) · 1–0 Former trainer for the Polgárs, IM Tibor Károlyi, called this the most beautiful game ever played by a woman.[245][246]
  • Judit Polgár vs. Ferenc Berkes, Hunguest Hotels Super Chess Tournament 2003 · French Defense: Classical. Burn Variation Main Line (C11) · 1–0 Polgár's opponent falls for a clever trap, expecting her to play 14.Bxa8 and he would reply with 14...g4!, but she springs 14.g4!![247]
  • Alexey Shirov vs. Judit Polgar, Buenos Aires ARG 1994 · Sicilian Defense: Paulsen. Normal Variation (B45) · 0–1 Polgár uses a novelty to break up Shirov's pawn front. She used only 48 minutes to win this game.
  • Polgár vs. Garry Kasparov, Russia vs. The Rest of the World match, Moscow 2002 Spanish Game: Berlin Defense. l'Hermet Variation (C67) · 1–0 Polgár makes history when, for the first time ever, a woman defeats the world's No. 1 chess player in a game.

The Judit Polgar Chess Foundation

The Judit Polgar Chess Foundation[248] developed two educational programs. One is Chess Palace for primary school children (grades 1–4) and the other one is Chess Playground for pre-school children. The aim is to improve various skills (problem solving, strategical thinking, etc.) with the help of chess.[249] The systematic rules of chess are used to process the knowledge of general subjects as well (math, language, etc.). The program is very successful in Hungary and it is part of the Hungarian National Curriculum. At the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair the Chess Palace book series received the special prize of the Best European Learning Materials Awards (BELMA).[250]

Books

  • Judit Polgar: How I Beat Fischer's Record (in English, German, French, Hungarian)
  • Judit Polgar: From GM to Top Ten (in English, German, French, Hungarian)
  • Judit Polgar: A Game of Queens (in English, German, French, Hungarian)

Educational chess exercise books for pre-school children and methodological resources for teachers (in Hungarian):

  • Kalandozások a sakktáblán (Adventures on the Chessboard)
  • Sakklépések (Chess Moves)
  • Sakk és matt (Check and Mate)

Educational chess books, and exercise books for elementary school children and methodological resources for teachers (in Hungarian):

  • Sakkpalota (Chess Palace), series 1–4.

Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sources citing Polgár as by far the strongest female chess player of all time:
    • "Anand wins chess "Battle of the Sexes"". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Associated Press. 18 August 2003. p. 6A. note: The Associated Press story on Aug.17/18, 2003 on the Polgár–Anand match explicitly refers to Polgár with the words "by far the strongest woman chess player ever"
    • "Polgar, Judit". Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved 22 January 2015. note: explicitly uses "by far": "By far the strongest female player of all time".
    • "Super-GM tournament in Sofia starts". Chessbase.com. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
    • "Judit Polgár: 'I can work myself into the top ten again'". ChessBase. 11 November 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
    • McClain, Dylan Loeb (24 December 2006). "Chess; The Secret of Playing Blindfold: Memory May Be the Least of It". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
    • "Women Grandmasters in Chess". MichaelBluejay. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
    • Pein, Malcolm (22 September 2009). "A crown for Kosteniuk". London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 18 April 2010. Malcolm Pein, British IM and Executive Editor of CHESS magazine, when speaking of A. Kosteniuk's victory over Hou Yifan for the Women's World Championship, said "Currently Judit Polgár is in another league from any other female player."
    • "Elite Players Of Chess To Compete". The New York Times. 17 May 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
    • Humber, James M.; Almeder, Robert F. (7 August 1998). Human cloning. Humana Press inc. p. 87. ISBN 0-89603-565-4.
    • Weber, Bruce (22 December 1996). "Next Move? Chess enthusiasts puzzle over game's gender imbalance". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 17A.
    • Wolff, Patrick (2002). Complete Idiot's guide to chess. Penguin Group (USA) Inc. p. 277. ISBN 0-02-864182-5.
    • Kavalek, Lubomir (17 January 2005). "Chess". The Washington Post. p. C12. Kavalek, GM in the top 100 players for 26 years, called Polgár, "the all-time best female player"
    • Pandolfini, Bruce (2007). Treasure Chess: Trivia, Quotes, Puzzles, and Lore from the World's Oldest Game. Random House. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-375-72204-2. Pandolfini, chess author and coach, writes "Judit Polgár is simply the strongest female chess player in history."
    • The January 1996 FIDE ratings list was a landmark as Polgár's 2675 rating made her the No. 10 ranked player in the world, the only woman ever to enter the world's Top Ten. Berry, Jonathan (6 January 1996). "Kramnick, 20 Tops the rating list". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. A12.
    • . The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  2. ^ FIDE Rating List :: January 1989 OlimpBase
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  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 18 March 2015.
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  11. ^ "ORDER OF SAINT STEPHEN: PRESIDENT ÁDER HANDS OVER HUNGARY'S HIGHEST STATE DECORATION". Hungary Today. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Judit Polgar". World Chess Hall of Fame. 11 May 2021.
  13. ^ Breaking Through: How the Polgar Sisters Changed the Game of Chess, (Everyman Chess 2005), Susan Polgar, page 14
  14. ^ a b Shenk, David (2006). The Immortal Game: Or How 32 carved pieces on a board illuminated our understanding of war, art, science, and the human brain. Anchor Canada/Random House. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-385-66227-7.
  15. ^ Shvidler, Eli (22 November 2007). . Haaretz. Archived from the original on 22 November 2007.
  16. ^ Carlisle, Rodney P. (2009). Encyclopedia of play in today's society. Sage Publications, Inc. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4129-6670-2.
  17. ^ Koza, Patricia (UPI) (9 November 1986). "Sisters test male domination of chess". The Mohave Daily Miner. Kingman, Arizona. p. B2.
  18. ^ Harold C. Schonberg (30 March 1985). "Top-rated at 15, Girl Challenges Chess World". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  19. ^ Phillips, Sean (15 August 2010). "A Gender Divide In The Ultimate Sport Of The Mind". NPR. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  20. ^ Pandolfini, Bruce (2007). Treasure Chess: Trivia, Quotes, Puzzles, and Lore from the World's Oldest Game. Random House. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-375-72204-2. Pandolfini, chess author and coach, writes: "Judit Polgár is simply the strongest female chess player in history."
  21. ^ Harold C. Schonberg (18 March 1989). "Top-Rated Female Chess Player Is Just One of Three Stars at Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  22. ^ Bruce Weber (5 August 1992). "Chess Moves Are Planned. Birthdays Happen". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  23. ^ a b King, Daniel (1993). How Good is Your Chess. Dover. p. 118. ISBN 0-486-42780-3.
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  25. ^ . Susan Polgar. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  26. ^ . Chessville. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  27. ^ a b c "Judit Polgár in Rocca di Papa". Chessbase. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  28. ^ What Makes a Genius. Scientific American. 2008. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4042-1401-9. Note: From article The Expert Mind by Philip E. Ross Aug 2006 issue. The Ross article uses the wording "proves" nurture over nature.
  29. ^ a b Lyman, Shelby (8 January 1989). "Talented chess players are all in the Polgar family". The Sunday Telegraph. Nashua, New Hampshire. p. F-2.
  30. ^ Dweck, Carol S. (2006). Mindset: the new psychology of success. The Random House Publishing Group. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-345-47232-8.
  31. ^ Desjarlais, Robert R. (2011). Counterplay: An Anthropologist at the Chessboard. University of California Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-520-26739-8.
  32. ^ "Judit Polgár vs Dolfi Drimer". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  33. ^ "Judit Polgár vs Lev Gutman". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  34. ^ Polgár, László (1994). Chess:5334 Problems, Combinations and Games. Tess Press. ISBN 1-884822-31-2.p.1018 diagram 5231
  35. ^ "Judit Polgár 1 - Metodiev 0" (in Spanish). Javier Cordero Fernández. Retrieved 22 July 2011. Complete game.
  36. ^ a b c Schonberg, Harold C. "The Polgar sisters: Hungary's triple threat at chess". St. Petersburg Times. Vol. 102, no. 259. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 19A.
  37. ^ a b Hearst, Eliot; Knott, John (2009). Blindford chess: history, psychology, techniques, champions, world records and important games. McFarland & Company, Ltd. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-0-7864-3444-2.
  38. ^ "Young masters". The Pittsburgh Press. Vol. 102, no. 284. 7 April 1986. p. A2.
  39. ^ "Hungarian, 9, Wins Tourney Sisters Share Chess Ability". Schenectady Gazette. Vol. XCII, no. 165. Associated Press. 10 April 1986. p. 3.
  40. ^ Lyman, Shelby (8 February 1987). "Younger sisters are also proficient". The Sunday Telegraph. Vol. 1, no. 45. Nashua and Southern New Hampshire.
  41. ^ Lyman, Shelby (24 April 1988). "Tournaments attract 1,060 players". The Sunday Telegraph. Nashua, New Hampshire. p. F-2.
  42. ^ Berry, Jonathan (1 October 1988). "Youth tourneys are growing trend". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. C16.
  43. ^ "C.to Mondiale U12". torneionline.com. Italian Chess Federation. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  44. ^ Day, Lawrence (4 February 1989). "Challenge meet largest ever". The Toronto Star. p. M21. note: Day incorrectly gives Judit's age as 10. Score of Polgár–Hennigen game is provided with brief analysis.
  45. ^ Lyman, Shelby (30 October 1988). "Hungarian girl may be next world champion". The Sunday Telegraph. Nashua, New Hampshire. p. F-2.
  46. ^ a b "Girl stuns chess world". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Wash. Associated Press. 2 November 1988. p. A1.
  47. ^ a b Shelby Lyman (30 October 1988). "Hungarian girl may be next world champion". Nashua, New Hampshire: The Sunday Telegraph. p. F-2.
  48. ^ "3 sisters moving up in male world of chess". The Toronto Star. Reuters. 26 December 1988. p. D18.
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Notes

  1. ^ Then, as she could not be removed from the list for the next 12 months, on the March 2015 rating list, she was "officially" overtaken by Chinese player Hou Yifan; she was the No. 1 again in the August 2015 women's rating list, in her last appearance in the FIDE world rankings.

Literature

External links

  • Official website
  • Judit Polgar rating card at FIDE  
  • Judit Polgar player profile and games at Chessgames.com  
  • Judit Polgar chess games at 365Chess.com  
  • Judit Polgár Chess Olympiad record at OlimpBase.org  
  • Judit Polgar player profile at Chess.com
  • Judit Polgár at Curlie
  • . EasyChess.info. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008.
  • Lawson, Dominic (13 September 2011), , The Independent, London, archived from the original on 26 October 2011, retrieved 2 September 2017
  • 2012 Interview of Judit Polgár
  • Judit Polgar's perfect weekend
  • Interview for BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour 29 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
Achievements
Preceded by Youngest chess grandmaster ever
1991–1994 		Succeeded by

May 04, 2023
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The native form of this personal name is Polgar Judit This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals Judit Polgar born 23 July 1976 is a Hungarian chess grandmaster widely regarded as the strongest female chess player of all time 1 In 1991 Polgar achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months at the time the youngest to have done so breaking the record previously held by former World Champion Bobby Fischer She was the youngest player ever to break into the FIDE top 100 players rating list ranking No 55 in the January 1989 rating list at the age of 12 2 Judit PolgarPolgar in 2013CountryHungaryBorn 1976 07 23 23 July 1976 age 46 Budapest HungaryTitleGrandmaster 1991 FIDE rating2675 May 2023 inactive since September 2015 Peak rating2735 July 2005 Peak rankingNo 8 July 2004 No 1 woman January 1989 Polgar is the only woman to have been a serious candidate for the World Chess Championship in which she participated in 2005 she had previously participated in large 100 player knockout tournaments for the world championship She is also the only woman to have surpassed 2700 Elo reaching a peak world ranking of No 8 in 2004 and peak rating of 2735 in 2005 3 4 She is the only woman to be ranked in the top ten of all chess players first reaching that ranking in 1996 She was the No 1 rated woman in the world from January 1989 until her retirement on 13 August 2014 a She has won or shared first in the chess tournaments of Hastings 1993 Madrid 1994 Leon 1996 U S Open 1998 Hoogeveen 1999 Sigeman amp Co 2000 Japfa 2000 and the Najdorf Memorial 2000 5 Polgar is the only woman to have won a game against a reigning world number one player and has defeated eleven current or former world champions in either rapid or classical chess Magnus Carlsen Anatoly Karpov Garry Kasparov Vladimir Kramnik Boris Spassky Vasily Smyslov Veselin Topalov Viswanathan Anand Ruslan Ponomariov Alexander Khalifman and Rustam Kasimdzhanov 6 On 13 August 2014 she announced her retirement from competitive chess 7 8 9 In June 2015 Polgar was elected as the new captain and head coach of the Hungarian national men s team 10 On 20 August 2015 she received Hungary s highest decoration the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary 11 In 2021 Polgar was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame 12 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Child prodigy 2 2 Grandmaster 2 2 1 Kasparov touch move controversy 2 3 Strongest female player ever 2 4 Making history 2 5 Return to competition 3 Playing style 4 Chess professional 5 Personal life 6 Notable games 7 The Judit Polgar Chess Foundation 8 Books 9 Awards 10 See also 11 References 12 Notes 13 Literature 14 External linksEarly life EditPolgar was born on 23 July 1976 in Budapest to a Hungarian Jewish family 13 Polgar and her two older sisters Grandmaster Susan and International Master Sofia were part of an educational experiment carried out by their father Laszlo Polgar in an attempt to prove that children could make exceptional achievements if trained in a specialist subject from a very early age 14 Geniuses are made not born was Laszlo s thesis He and his wife Klara educated their three daughters at home with chess as the specialist subject 15 Laszlo also taught his three daughters the international language Esperanto They received resistance from Hungarian authorities as home schooling was not a socialist approach They also received criticism at the time from some Western commentators for depriving the sisters of a normal childhood Traditionally chess had been a male dominated activity and women were often seen as weaker players thus advancing the idea of a Women s World Champion 16 However from the beginning Laszlo was against the idea that his daughters had to participate in female only events Women are able to achieve results similar in fields of intellectual activities to that of men he wrote Chess is a form of intellectual activity so this applies to chess Accordingly we reject any kind of discrimination in this respect 17 This put the Polgars in conflict with the Hungarian Chess Federation of the day whose policy was for women to play in women only tournaments Polgar s older sister Susan first fought the bureaucracy by playing in men s tournaments and refusing to play in women s tournaments In 1985 when she was a 15 year old International Master Susan said that it was due to this conflict that she had not been awarded the Grandmaster title despite having made the norm eleven times 18 Career EditPolgar rarely played in women specific tournaments or divisions and has never competed for the Women s World Championship I always say that women should have the self confidence that they are as good as male players but only if they are willing to work and take it seriously as much as male players 19 While Laszlo Polgar has been credited with being an excellent chess coach 20 the Polgars had also employed professional chessplayers to train their daughters including Hungarian champion IM Tibor Florian GM Pal Benko and Russian GM Alexander Chernin 21 22 23 Susan Polgar the eldest of the sisters 5 years older than Sophia and 7 years older than Judit was the first of the sisters to achieve prominence in chess by winning tournaments and by 1986 she was the world s top rated female chess player 24 25 26 Initially being the youngest Judit was separated from her sisters while they were in training However this only served to increase Judit s curiosity After learning the rules they discovered Judit was able to find solutions to the problems they were studying and she began to be invited into the group 27 One evening Susan was studying an endgame with their trainer a strong International Master Unable to find the solution they woke Judit who was asleep in bed and carried her into the training room Still half asleep Judit showed them how to solve the problem after which they put her back to bed 14 Laszlo Polgar s experiment would produce a family of one international master and two grandmasters and would strengthen the argument for nurture over nature as well as prove women could be chess grandmasters 28 Child prodigy Edit Trained in her early years by her sister Susan who ultimately became Women s World Champion Judit Polgar was a chess prodigy from an early age At age 5 she defeated a family friend without looking at the board After the game the friend joked You are good at chess but I m a good cook Judit replied Do you cook without looking at the stove 29 However according to Susan Judit was not the sister with the most talent explaining Judit was a slow starter but very hard working 30 Polgar described herself at that age as obsessive about chess 31 She first defeated an International Master Dolfi Drimer at age 10 and a grandmaster Lev Gutman at age 11 32 33 Polgar vs V Metodiev Albena 1986abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefgh1 Rxh7 Rxh7 2 Qxg6 Kh8 3 Qe8 with mate to follow Polgar was 10 years old 34 35 This example uses algebraic notation Judit started playing in tournaments at 6 years old and by age 9 her rating with the Hungarian Chess Federation was 2080 She was a member of a chess club in Budapest where she would get experience from master level players 36 In 1984 in Budapest Sophia and Judit at the time 9 and 7 years of age respectively played two games of blindfold chess against two masters which they won At one point the girls complained that one of their opponents was playing too slowly and suggested a clock should be used 37 In April 1986 9 year old Judit played in her first rated tournament in the U S finishing first in the unrated section of the New York Open winning US 1 000 38 All three Polgar sisters competed Susan 16 competed in the grandmaster section and had a victory against GM Walter Browne and Sophia 11 finished second in her section but Judit gathered most of the attention in the tournament Grandmasters would drop by to watch the serious quiet child playing 36 She won her first seven games before drawing the final game Although the unrated section had many of the weaker players in the Open it also had players of expert strength who were foreign to the United States and had not been rated yet Milorad Boskovic related a conversation with Judit s sixth round opponent a Yugoslav player he knew to be a strong expert He told me he took some chances in the game because he couldn t believe she was going to attack so well 39 Not able to speak English her mother interpreted as she told a reporter her goal was to be a chess professional When the reporter asked her if she would be world champion one day Judit answered I will try 36 In late 1986 10 year old Judit defeated 52 year old Romanian IM Dolfi Drimer in the Adsteam Lidums International Tournament in Adelaide Australia Edmar Mednis said he played his best game of the tournament in beating Judit I was careful in that game Grandmasters don t like to lose to 10 year old girls because then we make the front page of all the papers 40 In April 1988 Polgar made her first International Master norm in the International B section of the New York Open 41 In August 1988 she won the under 12 Boys section of the World Youth Chess and Peace Festival in Timișoara Romania 42 43 In October 1988 she finished first in a 10 player round robin tournament in London scoring 7 2 for a half point lead over Israeli GM Yair Kraidman 44 With these three results she completed the requirements for the International Master title at the time she was the youngest player ever to have achieved this distinction 45 Both Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov were 14 when they were awarded the title Polgar was 12 46 It was during this time that former World Champion Mikhail Tal said Polgar had the potential to win the men s World Championship 47 Judit with sister Sofia at Thessaloniki 1988 Judit was asked about playing against boys instead of in the girls section of tournaments These other girls are not serious about chess I practice five or six hours a day but they get distracted by cooking and work around the house 46 In November 1988 Judit and her sisters along with Ildiko Madl represented Hungary in the Women s section of the 28th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki The International Chess Federation would not permit the Polgars to play against men in team competitions 48 Prior to the tournament Eduard Gufeld Soviet GM and team coach for the Soviet women s team dismissed the Polgars I believe that these girls are going to lose a good part of their quickly acquired image in the 28th Olympiad Afterward we are going to know if the Hungarian sisters are geniuses or just women 49 However the Hungarian women s team won the championship which marked the first time it was not won by the Soviet Union Judit played board 2 and finished the tournament with the highest score of 12 to win the individual gold medal 50 She also won the brilliancy prize for her game against Pavlina Angelova 51 In the January 1989 Elo rating list at the age of 12 she was rated 2555 which was number 55 in the world and 35 rating points ahead of the Women s World Champion Maia Chiburdanidze In the six months since the previous list she had gained a remarkable 190 rating points 52 53 Judit s quiet and modest demeanour at the board 54 contrasted with the intensity of her playing style David Norwood British GM in recalling Judit beating him when he was an established player and she was just a child described her as this cute little auburn haired monster who crushed you 55 British journalist Dominic Lawson wrote about 12 year old Judit s killer eyes and how she would stare at her opponent The irises are so grey so dark they are almost indistinguishable from the pupils Set against her long red hair the effect is striking 56 Before age 13 she had broken into the top 100 players in the world and the British Chess Magazine declared Judit Polgar s recent results make the performances of Fischer and Kasparov at a similar age pale by comparison 29 British GM Nigel Short called Judit one of the three or four greatest chess prodigies in history 57 However Kasparov expressed early doubts She has fantastic chess talent but she is after all a woman It all comes down to the imperfections of the feminine psyche No woman can sustain a prolonged battle 57 Later in life however after he had lost a rapid game against Polgar himself in 2002 Kasparov revised his opinion The Polgars showed that there are no inherent limitations to their aptitude an idea that many male players refused to accept until they had unceremoniously been crushed by a twelve year old with a ponytail 58 In 1989 Polgar tied with Boris Gelfand for third in the OHRA Open in Amsterdam earning her first Grandmaster norm 59 60 By now numerous books and articles had been written about the Polgar sisters making them famous even outside of the world of chess In 1989 American President George H W Bush and his wife Barbara met with the Polgars during their visit to Hungary 37 Although not released until 1996 in 1990 a documentary about children playing chess Chess Kids featuring Polgar was filmed The documentary did not include an interview with Polgar as her father required payment 61 62 In 1990 Judit won the Boys section of the under 14 in the World Youth Chess Festival in Fond du Lac Wisconsin 63 Also in 1990 Judit and her sisters represented Hungary in the Women s Olympiad winning the gold medal It was the last women only tournament in which Judit would ever participate 24 In October 1991 Judit finished with 5 3 tied for third for fifth position with Zoltan Ribli and John Nunn at a tournament in Vienna 64 65 Grandmaster Edit In December 1991 Polgar achieved the grandmaster title by winning the Hungarian National Championship at the time the youngest ever at 15 years 5 months to have achieved the title This beat Fischer s record by a month 54 66 This made her both the first woman to be the youngest ever grandmaster and the fourth woman to become a grandmaster after Nona Gaprindashvili Maia Chiburdanidze and Polgar s sister Susan 54 With this Polgar also beat her sister Susan s record for youngest ever female grandmaster obtained earlier in January 1991 by over 7 years Hungary one of the strongest chess playing countries had all but one of their strongest players participate in that year s championship as only Zoltan Ribli was missing Going into the last round Polgar needed only a draw to achieve the GM title but she won her game against GM Tibor Tolnai to finish first with six points in nine games 67 In 1992 Polgar tied for second behind Anatoly Karpov at the Madrid International in Linares She and Russian GM Vladimir Epishin finished with 5 3 68 In July 1992 she placed second in the Reshevsky Memorial in Manhattan finishing with four wins five draws and no losses 69 In September 1992 Polgar participated in a tournament held in Aruba in which a team of senior men s players competed against a team of top women players The men s team consisted of Lev Polugaevsky Wolfgang Uhlmann Oscar Panno Efim Geller Borislav Ivkov and Vasily Smyslov The women s team consisted of Judit and Zsuzsa Polgar Pia Cramling Chiburdanidze Ketevan Arakhamia and Alisa Galliamova The men won the tournament 39 33 The overall high scorer was Polugaevsky 57 years old with Polgar 16 finishing second with 7 4 70 In 1993 Polgar defeated former World Champion Boris Spassky pictured here in 1984 in an exhibition match Polgar then tied for first in the Hastings tournament held over New Year s 1992 93 Russian GM Evgeny Bareev at the time ranked eighth in the world led going into tournament s last round but was defeated by Polgar in their second individual game allowing her to share first 71 Immediately following the Hastings tournament Polgar played an exhibition match in February against former World Champion Boris Spassky She won the match 5 4 and won 110 000 the largest prize money to that point in her career 72 Polgar also participated in the Melody Amber tournament in Monaco which featured a blindfold tournament of 12 grandmasters Anand and Karpov finished first Ljubojevic third while Polgar finished in clear fourth with 6 points from 11 rounds ahead of other strong GMs such as Ivanchuk Short Korchnoi and her sister Susan 73 74 In 1993 Polgar became the first woman to ever qualify for an Interzonal tournament In March she finished in a four way tie for second place in the Budapest Zonal and won the tiebreaking tournament 75 76 77 She then confirmed her status as one of the world s leading players narrowly failing to qualify for the Candidates Tournaments at the rival FIDE and PCA Interzonal tournaments 78 79 In the summer of 1993 Bobby Fischer stayed for a time in the Polgar household He had been living in seclusion in Yugoslavia due to an arrest warrant issued by the United States for violating the U N blockade of Yugoslavia with his 1992 match against Spassky Susan Polgar met Bobby with her family and persuaded him to come out of hiding in a cramped hotel room in a small Yugoslavian village 80 During his stay he played many games of Fischer Random Chess and helped the sisters analyse their games Susan said while he was friendly on a personal level and recalled mostly pleasant moments as their guest there were conflicts due to his political views On the suggestion of a friend of Fischer a match of blitz chess between Fischer and Polgar was arranged and announced to the press However problems ensued between Fischer and Laszlo Polgar and Fischer cancelled the match telling a friend who asked if the match would take place No they re Jewish 80 81 82 In the summer of 1994 Polgar had the greatest success of her career to that point when she won the Madrid International in Spain Against a field which included Gata Kamsky Evgeny Bareev Valery Salov and Ivan Sokolov she finished 7 2 and 1 points ahead of second place 83 84 Her performance rating for the tournament was 2778 against an opposition rated at 2672 85 In October 1994 she played in a tournament in Buenos Aires which was a tribute to an ailing Polugaevsky Eight grandmasters participated all considered contenders for the world championship Karpov Anand Salov Ivanchuk Kamsky Shirov Ljubojevic and Polgar The tournament was unusual as Black in each game was required to play a Sicilian Defence since Polugaevsky was considered the all time authority on the opening 86 This was to Polgar s advantage as it was her favourite Against the elite competition she finished tied for third with Ivanchuk 87 88 In September 1995 Polgar finished third with a score of 7 4 in the Donner Memorial in Amsterdam behind Jan Timman and Julio Granda Zuniga who tied for first and ahead of Yasser Seirawan Alexander Huzman Alexei Shirov Alexander Khalifman Alexander Morozevich and Valery Salov 89 She secured a clear third place with a 21 move win over Shirov in her last game 90 91 In the Antillean island of Aruba in November 1995 she played in a friendly match against Jeroen Piket of the Netherlands at the time one of the top players in Europe Despite being closely matched in ratings Polgar won the match 6 2 92 Lewis chessmen In 1995 the Isle of Lewis chess club in Scotland attempted to arrange a game between Polgar and Nigel Short in which the famous Lewis chessmen would be used The Lewis chessmen is a chess set carved in the 12th century However the British Museum refused to release the set despite assurances that the players would wear gloves Scottish member of parliament Calum MacDonald pointed out that the set would be safe especially as chess was not a contact sport 93 In the end the Museum allowed the chess set to be displayed at the Isle of Lewis festival tournament but they were not used in any games Polgar won the double round robin tournament of four GMs scoring five points in the six games and winning both her games against Short 94 95 Kasparov touch move controversy Edit Polgar vs Kasparov Linares 1994abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefghThe position before the move in question Allegedly Kasparov played 36 Nc5 which loses the exchange to 37 Bc6 quickly realised his error and substituted 36 Nf8 This example uses algebraic notation At Linares 1994 Polgar lost a controversial game to the World Champion Garry Kasparov The tournament marked the first time the 17 year old Polgar was invited to compete with the world s strongest players After four games she had two points 96 During her game with Kasparov in the fifth round Kasparov gradually outplayed her and had a clear advantage after 35 moves 97 On his 36th move the World Champion reportedly changed his mind about the move of a knight and moved the piece to a different square 98 99 According to chess rules once a player has released a piece the move must stand so if Kasparov did remove his hand he should have been required to play his original move Polgar did not challenge Kasparov in the moment because she stated I was playing the World Champion and didn t want to cause unpleasantness during my first invitation to such an important event I was also afraid that if my complaint was overruled I would be penalized on the clock when we were in time pressure She did however look questioningly at the arbiter Carlos Falcon who witnessed the incident and took no action 97 The incident was caught on tape by a crew from the Spanish television company PVS and the videotape showed that Kasparov s fingers had left the knight 100 101 102 Tournament director Carlos Falcon did not forfeit Kasparov when this evidence was made available to him 103 As U S chess journalist Shelby Lyman pointed out in the majority of sports instant replays do not overrule a referee s original decision and chess is no exception 101 At the time the video had not been publicly released at the request of tournament sponsor Luis Rentero 97 but it is now available on https www youtube com watch v aw4g3iDrsNk At one point Polgar reportedly confronted Kasparov in the hotel bar asking him How could you do this to me 104 Following this incident Kasparov bluntly told an interviewer she just publicly said I was cheating I think a girl of her age should be taught some good manners before making such statements 105 Subsequently Kasparov refused to speak to her for three years 97 Kasparov told reporters that his conscience was clear as he was not aware of his hand leaving the piece 106 Although Polgar recovered by the end of the tournament she went into a slump over the next six rounds gaining only half a point 96 The incident may also have had an effect on Kasparov who turned out a subpar performance in the tournament 101 Strongest female player ever Edit Polgar is generally considered the strongest female chess player of all time 1 In January 1996 she became the only woman ever to be ranked in the top ten of all chess players 107 In August 1996 she participated in a very strong 10 player tournament in Vienna There was a three way tie for first between Karpov Topalov and Boris Gelfand and a three way tie for fourth between Kramnik Polgar and Leko 108 109 In December 1996 Polgar played a match in Sao Paulo against Brazil s champion Gilbert Milos The four games were played at 30 moves an hour with 30 minutes for the remainder of the game Polgar won two drew one and lost one and won 12 000 in prize money 110 In February 1997 she played in the Linares supertournament which Kasparov won by edging out Kramnik Polgar finished in clear fifth position in the 12 GM tournament ahead of Anand Ivanchuk Gelfand and Shirov 111 112 Her result was considered exceptional considering the strength of the tournament average 2701 and she was praised for her tactical skills in her game against Ivanchuk 113 In April 1997 she played in the Dos Hermanas Chess tournament a single round robin category XIX event of 10 of the world s best players She finished in sixth place with an even score of 4 4 114 115 In June 1997 she finished with an even score 4 4 in the Madrid 10 player GM tournament won by Topalov 116 In July 1997 Polgar competed in the elite Dortmund International Tournament She finished in fifth in the strong field of ten ahead of players such as Anatoly Karpov 117 In the tournament she won playing with the black pieces against Veselin Topalov at the time ranked fourth in the world Topalov had the advantage until Polgar executed a deep positional sacrifice 118 In October 1997 she tied for second in a double round robin tournament of four grandmasters in the VAM International Tournament in Hoogeveen the Netherlands 119 There has long been a lively debate about who is the strongest player of all wrote GM Robert Byrne in his New York Times column of 26 August 1997 Prominent candidates are Bobby Fischer Garry Kasparov Jose Raul Capablanca Alexander Alekhine or Emanuel Lasker But there is no argument about the greatest female player she is 21 year old Judit Polgar 117 In 1998 Polgar defeated Anatoly Karpov in a match of action chess 30 minutes per game At the time Karpov was FIDE World Champion In January 1998 she played in the category XVII event the Hoogovens in Wijk aan Zee Netherlands in which 14 of the world s top grandmasters participated She finished in the middle of the pack tied for sixth tenth position with Karpov Topalov and Jeroen Piket and an even score of 6 points in thirteen games Polgar handed co winner Vishwanathan Anand his only loss of the tournament 120 121 In June 1998 in Budapest Polgar played an eight game match of action chess which is 30 minutes for the entire game against Anatoly Karpov She won the match 5 3 by winning two games with the remaining ending in draws At the time Karpov was the FIDE World Champion 122 In August 1998 Polgar became the first woman to ever win the U S Open which was held at the Kona Surf Resort in Kailua Kona Hawaii She shared the tournament victory with GM Boris Gulko as each scored 8 1 Typical of her aggressive style was her victory against GM Georgi Kacheishvili in which she sacrificed her queen for the attack 123 In October 1998 Polgar won the VAM four grandmaster tournament in Hoogeveen Netherlands by 1 points over Jan Timman 124 125 In November 1998 Polgar played in the Wydra Memorial Rapid chess tournament in Israel She tied for first with Viswanathan Anand as both scored 11 out of the 14 games Anand won the tournament in a tie break game over Polgar 126 In the two years since Polgar became the first woman to ever break into the top 10 her rating had dropped Although she was in the top 20 this had the effect of her being invited less frequently to the strongest tournaments 124 In October 1999 Polgar participated in the four player GM section of the VAM Chess tournament in Hoogeveen Netherlands Jan Timman led early in the tournament but Polgar staged a comeback scoring 3 points in the last 4 games to share first place Anatoly Karpov finished in third and Darmen Sadvakasov fourth 127 In January 2000 Polgar had for her a disappointing result in a tournament in Pamplona Spain which was won by Nigel Short She finished with only 4 points from 9 games tied for 6 7 place with Jan Timman who had also played below his rating 128 Polgar had another disappointing result later in the month in the category XVIII tournament in Corus Wijk aan Zee which was won by Kasparov She did not win a game until the 11th round and finished with 5 points in 13 games tied with Victor Korchnoi for 11 12 position among the fourteen GMs 129 However in the European Teams Championship in Batumi Georgia also in January she won the gold medal playing Board 2 scoring 6 2 130 In April and May 2000 Polgar won one of the strongest tournaments ever held in Asia The Japfa Classic in Denpasar Bali Indonesia was a category XVI event of 10 players which included Alexander Khalifman at the time FIDE world champion and Anatoly Karpov his predecessor 131 Going into the last round four players Polgar Khalifman Karpov and Gilberto Milos were tied but Polgar won her game over Brazilian GM Milos while Khalifman and Karpov played against each other in a draw Polgar finished clear first with 6 2 winning the 20 000 first place prize money 132 133 134 At the end of May she won the Sigeman amp Company International Tournament in Malmo Sweden She finished the four player double round robin tournament scoring 4 points with Jan Timman at 3 with Ulf Andersson and Tiger Hillarp Persson finishing in that order 135 In June 2000 she played in the GM Tournament Merida State of Yucatan finishing in second place a half point behind Alexei Shirov 136 In September 2000 she shared first place in the Najdorf Chess Festival with Viktor Bologan ahead of Nigel Short and Anatoly Karpov 136 In October and November she represented Hungary playing board 3 in the 34th Chess Olympiad While the Hungarian team narrowly missed winning the bronze medal Polgar finished 10 13 for the second highest points total of any player in the Olympiad 137 and a rated performance level of 2772 138 In late February and early March 2001 Polgar played in the elite Linares double round robin invitational of six of the world s strongest players The tournament was Kasparov s triumph as he scored 7 points in 10 games The other five participants Polgar Karpov Shirov Grischuk and Leko all finished with 4 for second and last position However Polgar drew both her games with Kasparov the first time in her career she had done this under tournament time controls 139 140 141 142 In March 2001 she reached the semifinals of the World Cup rapid play tournament in Cannes She made it to the final four from the 16 grandmasters in the tournament She lost the semifinal match to Evgeny Bareev who in turn lost to Kasparov In a quarterfinal playoff blitz game she forced Joel Lautier France s strongest player to resign in 12 moves when she won his queen which resulted in the audience of several hundred bursting into applause 143 In June 2001 Polgar finished fourth in the European Championship in Ohrid Macedonia a 13 round Swiss system tournament of 143 Grandmasters and 38 IMs 144 In October 2001 she tied for first with GM Loek van Wely in the Essent Tourney in Hoogeveen the Netherlands 145 Making history Edit In September 2002 in the Russia versus the Rest of the World Match Polgar finally defeated Garry Kasparov in a game The tournament was played under rapid rules with 25 minutes per game and a 10 second bonus increment per move She won the game with exceptional positional play Kasparov with black chose the Berlin Defence instead of his usual Sicilian and Polgar proceeded with a line which Kasparov has used himself Polgar was able to attack with her rooks on Kasparov s king which was still in the centre of the board and when he was two pawns down Kasparov resigned 146 The game helped the World team win the match 52 48 147 Upon resigning Kasparov immediately left by a passageway barred to journalists and photographers Kasparov had once described Polgar as a circus puppet and asserted that women chess players should stick to having children Polgar called the game one of the most remarkable moments of her career 104 The game was historic as it was the first time in chess history that a female player beat the world s No 1 player in competitive play 148 An interview with Polgar including video of the match was included in the BBC Witness radio program in 2016 149 In October and November 2002 Polgar played on second board with Peter Leko on first for Hungary in the 35th Chess Olympiad While not having the stunning performance as she had in the 2000 Olympiad she helped Hungary attain the silver medal for the event While the Hungarians had the best win loss record of the tournament as a team and lost only a single game of the 56 they played they had won most of their matches by 2 1 scores while the Russian team won gold as they piled up the points However Hungary gave the gold winning Russian team its only defeat Polgar s fourth round game against Azerbaijan s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov included a brilliant 12 Nxf7 drawing his king into the center of the board 150 151 By early 2003 Polgar had worked her way back into the top 10 rated players in the world 152 153 In 2003 Polgar scored one of her best results an undefeated clear second place in the Category XIX Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee Netherlands just a half point behind future World Champion Viswanathan Anand and a full point ahead of then world champion Vladimir Kramnik One of the highlight games of the tournament was Polgar s fourth round crushing victory over Anatoly Karpov She played a novelty in the opening which she devised over the board The game lasted 33 moves with Karpov down two pawns and his king exposed Polgar admitted to enjoying herself by the end of the game 154 In April 2003 Polgar finished second in The Hunguest Hotels Super Tournament in Budapest behind Nigel Short She appeared headed for a first place victory in the tournament but lost her game against compatriot Peter Leko 155 156 157 In June 2003 Polgar finished tied for third with Boris Gelfand in the Enghien les Bains International Tournament in France scoring 5 3 behind Evgeny Bareev who won the tournament and GM Michael Adams 158 In August 2003 Polgar played an eight game rapid chess match in Mainz Germany against Viswanathan Anand billed as the Battle of the Sexes After six games each player had won three games Anand won the final two games to win the match 159 160 In October 2003 Polgar won the 4 grandmaster Essent tournament in Hoogeveen Netherlands In one of her games against Karpov he blundered allowing Polgar to utilize a famous double bishop sacrifice first employed by Emanuel Lasker against Bauer in 1889 161 162 163 164 In 2004 Polgar took some time off from chess to give birth to her son Oliver She was consequently considered inactive and not listed on the January 2005 FIDE rating list Her sister Susan reactivated her playing status during this period and temporarily became the world s No 1 ranked women s player again 165 Polgar returned to chess at the prestigious Corus chess tournament on 15 January 2005 The tournament which was now considered by some as the most important in Europe was won by fellow Hungarian Peter Leko while Polgar scored 7 13 to tie for fourth with Alexander Grischuk Michael Adams and Kramnik 166 She was therefore relisted in the April 2005 FIDE rating list gaining a few rating points for her better than par performance at Corus In May she also had a better than par performance at a strong tournament in Sofia Bulgaria finishing third 167 This brought her to her highest ever rating 2735 in the July 2005 FIDE list and enabled her to retain her spot as the eighth ranked player in the world 168 169 In September 2005 Polgar once again made history as she became the first woman to play in the final stages of the World Chess Championship qualification she had previously participated in large 100 player knockout tournaments for the world championship but this was a small 8 player invitational However she performed poorly coming last of the eight competitors 170 However in her game against Veselin Topalov Polgar pushed the eventual tournament winner and world champion to a seven hour marathon before succumbing 171 She did not play at the 2006 Linares tournament because she was pregnant again On 6 July 2006 she gave birth to a girl Hanna Polgar participated in the FIDE world blitz championship on 5 7 September 2006 in Rishon Le Zion Israel Blitz chess is played with each player having only 5 minutes for all moves The round robin tournament of 16 of some of the strongest players in the world concluded with Alexander Grischuk finally edging out Peter Svidler in a tie break to win the tournament Polgar finished tied for fifth sixth place winning 5 625 for the three day tournament 172 173 Polgar tied with Boris Gelfand with 9 points and won her individual game against Viswanathan Anand at the time the world s No 2 player 174 In October 2006 Polgar scored another excellent result tied for first place in the Essent Chess Tournament Hoogeveen the Netherlands 175 She scored 4 out of 6 in a double round robin tournament that included two wins against the world s top rated player Veselin Topalov In December 2006 Polgar played a six game match of blindfold rapid chess against former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov Topalov won the match 3 2 with two wins to Polgar s one 176 Nearly 1 000 spectators attended the event 177 In May June 2007 she played in the Candidates Tournament for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007 She was eliminated in the first round losing 3 2 to Evgeny Bareev Some chess pundits said she was poorly prepared for the tournament she had played less chess in the last three years as she gave birth to her two children However she was still credited with the most beautiful attack of the tournament in her fifth game victory 178 In July 2007 Polgar played in the Biel Chess Festival which was won by 16 year old Magnus Carlsen Polgar finished the 9 round tournament at 5 4 in a four way tie for third to sixth place 179 180 A highlight game for her was actually a draw Polgar was playing an endgame of knight against knight and two connected passed pawns of Alexander Grischuk but she was able to eliminate both pawns 181 182 In October 2007 Polgar played in the Blindfold World Cup in Bilbao Spain Polgar finished in fourth place of the six players with three wins four losses and three draws The tournament was won by Bu Xiangzhi of China whose only loss was to Polgar 183 184 185 In November 2007 she took part in Chess Champions League Playing for a Better World in Vitoria Gasteiz Spain a tournament to raise funds for equipment for a Hospital in Mbuji Mayi DR Congo Polgar finished tied for third in the strong six player tournament and handed tournament winner Veselin Topalov his only loss 186 187 In January 2008 she competed in the strong Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament scoring a respectable 6 13 and tied 9 11 in the 14 player tournament 188 In November 2008 Polgar had a terrible result in The World Chess Blitz Championship in Almaty Republic of Kazakhstan finished last of the 16 players with only 2 points 189 In November 2008 Polgar played the number 2 board for the Hungarian open men s team in the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden finishing 3 8 In November 2009 Polgar participated in the FIDE World Cup at Khanty Mansiysk in Siberia Polgar made it to the third round of the knockout tournament until she was eliminated by tournament winner Boris Gelfand She handed Gelfand his only loss of the tournament 190 Return to competition Edit In 2010 Polgar began her return to competitive chess and would play more than she had in recent years In March 2010 Polgar played a four game match against GM Gregory Kaidanov at Hilton Head South Carolina It was required that each game begin with the Sicilian Defense The match was drawn with each player winning two games 191 192 In April 2010 Polgar played an eight game rapid chess match against Czech GM David Navara which was part of the CEZ Chess Trophy 2010 festival of the Prague Chess Society Despite slightly higher ranking 2708 to Polgar s 2682 Navara lost the match 6 2 193 Polgar participated in the rapid chess tournament of the Presidential Chess Cup in Baku Azerbaijan from 29 April to 1 May 2010 She finished with one win two losses and four draws tied for fifth position in the eight player round robin The tournament finished with a three way tie for first with the winner Kramnik being decided by Elo over Mamedyarov and Kamsky 194 In June 2010 it was reported Polgar was assisting GM Zoltan Almasi in training for the Olympiad 195 In September and October 2010 Polgar played 3rd board for the Hungarian Men s team in the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty Mansiysk Russia The team finished in fourth place losing the Bronze medal to Israel on tie break Playing more in 2010 than in recent years Polgar finished fourth overall among Board three players with a 6 10 score 196 The highlight for the Hungarian Men s team was a fifth round victory over Russia I 197 In November 2010 Polgar won the four player rapid tournament which was held to celebrate the National University of Mexico s 100th anniversary Polgar won a close opening match against Vassily Ivanchuk She then crushed Veselin Topalov a former world champion and ranked No 1 in the world in 2009 3 to win the tournament 198 199 200 Polgar vs Edouard European Ch Aix les Bains 2011abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefghPosition after 35 h6 In an apparent draw Polgar finds the winning move 36 h5 threatening to place a pawn on g6 The game continued 36 Rg8 37 Rd7 Rg7 38 Bf7 1 0 201 202 This example uses algebraic notation On 2 April 2011 Polgar finished in a four way tie for first in the European Individual Chess Championship in Aix les Bains France 203 The tournament featuring 393 players of which 167 were Grandmasters was won by Russian Vladimir Potkin on tie break GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek won the silver while Polgar placed third winning the bronze 204 Polgar was praised for her creative attacks and endgame technique 205 Polgar became the first woman ever to finish in the top three of the male championship 206 Continuing Polgar s return to competitive chess in July 2011 she participated in the 39th Greek Team National Championship scoring 3 out of 4 games Also in July 2011 Polgar played Board 3 for Hungary in the World Team Championships Hungary finished in fifth place of the ten teams and individually Polgar finished sixteenth of the fifty players 207 In September 2011 Polgar competed in the Chess World Cup a 128 player tournament with a large prize fund and qualification to the top three for the World Championship cycle Polgar made it to the final 8 players before she was eliminated by Peter Svidler A highlight for Polgar was her elimination of the tournament s No 1 seed and world s fifth highest rated player Sergey Karjakin 208 209 210 In October 2011 Polgar took part in the Unive 2011 competition She finished last in the elite four player Crown group losing games to Vladimir Kramnik and Anish Giri 211 In September 2011 Polgar finally returned to Super GM status with a FIDE rating of 2701 and by November she had raised it to 2710 and ranked 35 in the world 212 213 To begin 2012 in January Polgar competed in the Tradewise Gibraltar tournament finishing with 7 points in 10 games For the first time in 22 years since she lost to Nona Gaprindashvili in the 1990 Chess Olympiad Polgar lost a classical game to a female player 214 as Women s World champion Hou Yifan won their individual game and tied for first before losing the playoff to Nigel Short 215 216 In 2013 Polgar received the FIDE Caissa Award as Polgar was considered the best female player of 2012 This award designed and executed by artisans of the Lobortas Classic Jewelry House was presented on 2 October 2013 during the 84th FIDE Congress in Tallinn On 5 October 2013 217 Polgar played Nigel Short in the eighteenth edition of Chess com s Death Match The final score was 17 10 in Polgar s favour They played 28 games in total separated into three stages of increasingly faster time controls the first being 5 1 the second 3 1 and finally 1 1 Polgar later remarked on her Facebook page that it was great fun to play against Nigel 218 Nigel in turn tweeted in jest Such bad chess I should go and hang myself 219 In 2014 in the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship she came 26th in the Blitz championship and 56th in the Rapid championship On 13 August 2014 she announced in the London newspaper The Times her retirement from chess at the highest level 220 Playing style EditWhile having a strong understanding of positional play Polgar excels in tactics and is known for an aggressive playing style striving to maximize the initiative and actively pursuing complications 221 The former World Champion Garry Kasparov wrote that based upon her games if to play like a girl meant anything in chess it would mean relentless aggression 222 In her youth she was especially popular with chess fans due to her willingness to employ wild gambits and attacks 223 As a teenager Polgar has been credited with contributing to the popularity of the opening variation King s Bishop s Gambit 224 Polgar prefers aggressive openings playing 1 e4 as White and the Sicilian or King s Indian Defence with black but she has also said her opening choices will also depend upon her trainer 23 221 225 Jennifer Shahade writer and two time U S women s chess champion suggested that the influence of Polgar as a role model may be one of the reasons women play more aggressive chess than men 226 Describing an individual encounter with Polgar former U S Champion Joel Benjamin said It was all out war for five hours I was totally exhausted She is a tiger at the chessboard She absolutely has a killer instinct You make one mistake and she goes right for the throat 227 Polgar is especially adept at faster time controls When she was still young Der Spiegel wrote of her her tactical thunderstorms during blitz games have confounded many opponents who are rated higher 47 Polgar has spoken of appreciating the psychological aspect of chess She has stated preferring to learn an opponent s style so she can play intentionally against him or her rather than playing objective chess 228 In her 2002 victory at 25 minutes time control over Kasparov she deliberately chose a line Kasparov had used against Vladimir Kramnik employing the strategy of forcing the opponent to play against himself Kasparov s response was inadequate and he soon found himself in an inferior position 146 failed verification In an interview regarding playing against computers she said Chess is 30 to 40 psychology You don t have this when you play a computer I can t confuse it 229 Chess professional Edit Polgar at the 2008 Mainz Chess Classic You have to be very selfish sometimes said Polgar in speaking of the life of a professional chess player If you are in a tournament you have to think of yourself you can t think of your wife or children only about yourself 143 When asked in 2002 if she still desired to win the world championship she said Chess is my profession and of course I hope to improve But I m not going to give up everything to become world champion I have my life 55 Polgar has said she does not have a permanent coach although she does have help from GM Lev Psakhis or GM Mihail Marin 27 230 She said she rarely uses a second and when she travels to tournaments it is usually her husband who accompanies her 231 232 Polgar said she has changed how she prepares for tournaments I make more use of my experience now and try to work more efficiently so that my efforts aren t wasted she said in 2008 233 Concentrating on her two children left Polgar with little time to train and play competitively and her ranking dropped from eighth in 2005 to the mid 50s in 2009 She played in the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel and was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Games 234 235 However as of September 2010 Polgar remained the only woman in the top 100 and still the only woman to have ever made the top 10 236 Comparing motherhood to playing chess Polgar has said that a chess tournament now feels like a vacation 27 When asked why she came back to chess after taking time off to care for her children she said I cannot live without chess It is an integral part of my life I enjoy the game 230 Despite being the highest rated woman for twenty five years Polgar never competed for the women s world championship In a 2011 interview she was asked about this possibility Polgar said that in the past she has never been interested in competing for it but in recent years the mentality of a couple of the women players has changed Polgar said that for her to consider competing it would have to be a challenge and if I get an extremely nice offer just to play for the title 231 232 Polgar authored a series of children s books on chess Chess Playground Her sister Sofia provided illustrations 237 In March 2013 she was awarded the Commander s Cross with Star of The Hungarian Order of Merit one of Hungary s highest awards for her worldwide acknowledged life achievement as an athlete for promoting the game of chess and for her efforts to promote the educational benefits of chess 238 239 In August 2015 she received The Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen the highest state Order of Hungary 240 Personal life EditIn August 2000 Polgar married Hungarian veterinary surgeon Gusztav Font 143 241 They have two children a boy named Oliver born 2004 and a girl named Hanna born 2006 242 243 While Judit remained in Hungary her sisters and parents eventually emigrated Sofia to Israel Susan to the United States and her parents to Israel and the United States 55 Several members of Polgar s family were murdered in the Holocaust her grandmother was a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp 244 Notable games EditJ Polgar vs V Anand Dos Hermanas 1999 Sicilian Defense Scheveningen Variation Delayed Keres Attack Perenyi Gambit B90 1 0 Former trainer for the Polgars IM Tibor Karolyi called this the most beautiful game ever played by a woman 245 246 Judit Polgar vs Ferenc Berkes Hunguest Hotels Super Chess Tournament 2003 French Defense Classical Burn Variation Main Line C11 1 0 Polgar s opponent falls for a clever trap expecting her to play 14 Bxa8 and he would reply with 14 g4 but she springs 14 g4 247 Alexey Shirov vs Judit Polgar Buenos Aires ARG 1994 Sicilian Defense Paulsen Normal Variation B45 0 1 Polgar uses a novelty to break up Shirov s pawn front She used only 48 minutes to win this game Polgar vs Garry Kasparov Russia vs The Rest of the World match Moscow 2002 Spanish Game Berlin Defense l Hermet Variation C67 1 0 Polgar makes history when for the first time ever a woman defeats the world s No 1 chess player in a game The Judit Polgar Chess Foundation EditThe Judit Polgar Chess Foundation 248 developed two educational programs One is Chess Palace for primary school children grades 1 4 and the other one is Chess Playground for pre school children The aim is to improve various skills problem solving strategical thinking etc with the help of chess 249 The systematic rules of chess are used to process the knowledge of general subjects as well math language etc The program is very successful in Hungary and it is part of the Hungarian National Curriculum At the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair the Chess Palace book series received the special prize of the Best European Learning Materials Awards BELMA 250 Books EditJudit Polgar How I Beat Fischer s Record in English German French Hungarian Judit Polgar From GM to Top Ten in English German French Hungarian Judit Polgar A Game of Queens in English German French Hungarian Educational chess exercise books for pre school children and methodological resources for teachers in Hungarian Kalandozasok a sakktablan Adventures on the Chessboard Sakklepesek Chess Moves Sakk es matt Check and Mate Educational chess books and exercise books for elementary school children and methodological resources for teachers in Hungarian Sakkpalota Chess Palace series 1 4 Awards EditHungarian Chess Player of the Year in 1989 1991 1993 1994 1998 2003 2005 2012 and 2014 8 time Chess Oscar winner for annual performance in 1988 1995 1996 2000 2001 and 2002 Female Chess Player of the Century 2001 FIDE Caissa Award the newly established Chess Oscar 2012 251 The Knight s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary Budapest 2003 252 The Commander s Cross with Star of the Hungarian Order of Merit Budapest 2013 Prima Primissima Budapest 2014 a Member of the Association of Immortal Hungarian Athletes Budapest 2014 The Hungarian Order of St Stephen Budapest 2015 253 Best European Learning Materials Award for the Chess Palace Program Frankfurt 2015 Honorary Citizen of Budapest Budapest 2016 254 James Joyce Award from the UCD Literary amp Historical Society Dublin 2017 255 ECU European Golden Pawn European Chess Legend Monte Carlo 2019 256 Honorary Doctor of the University of Physical Education Budapest 2020 257 Inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame 2021 258 FIDE ICON Award 2022 259 See also EditList of Jewish chess playersReferences Edit a b Sources citing Polgar as by far the strongest female chess player of all time Anand wins chess Battle of the Sexes Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Associated Press 18 August 2003 p 6A note The Associated Press story on Aug 17 18 2003 on the Polgar Anand match explicitly refers to Polgar with the words by far the strongest woman chess player ever Polgar Judit Encyclopedia Britannica Online Retrieved 22 January 2015 note explicitly uses by far By far the strongest female player of all time Super GM tournament in Sofia starts Chessbase com 12 May 2005 Retrieved 18 April 2010 Judit Polgar I can work myself into the top ten again ChessBase 11 November 2007 Retrieved 4 February 2008 McClain Dylan Loeb 24 December 2006 Chess The Secret of Playing Blindfold Memory May Be the Least of It The New York Times Retrieved 13 April 2010 Women Grandmasters in Chess MichaelBluejay Retrieved 13 April 2010 Pein Malcolm 22 September 2009 A crown for Kosteniuk London Telegraph Media Group Limited Retrieved 18 April 2010 Malcolm Pein British IM and Executive Editor of CHESS magazine when speaking of A Kosteniuk s victory over Hou Yifan for the Women s World Championship said Currently Judit Polgar is in another league from any other female player Elite Players Of Chess To Compete The New York Times 17 May 2005 Retrieved 18 April 2010 Humber James M Almeder Robert F 7 August 1998 Human cloning Humana Press inc p 87 ISBN 0 89603 565 4 Weber Bruce 22 December 1996 Next Move Chess enthusiasts puzzle over game s gender imbalance Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p 17A Wolff Patrick 2002 Complete Idiot s guide to chess Penguin Group USA Inc p 277 ISBN 0 02 864182 5 Kavalek Lubomir 17 January 2005 Chess The Washington Post p C12 Kavalek GM in the top 100 players for 26 years called Polgar the all time best female player Pandolfini Bruce 2007 Treasure Chess Trivia Quotes Puzzles and Lore from the World s Oldest Game Random House p 84 ISBN 978 0 375 72204 2 Pandolfini chess author and coach writes Judit Polgar is simply the strongest female chess player in history The January 1996 FIDE ratings list was a landmark as Polgar s 2675 rating made her the No 10 ranked player in the world the only woman ever to enter the world s Top Ten Berry Jonathan 6 January 1996 Kramnick 20 Tops the rating list The Globe and Mail Toronto p A12 All Time Rankings FIDE Top 10 1970 1997 The University of Edinburgh Archived from the original on 26 November 2009 Retrieved 15 May 2010 FIDE Rating List January 1989 OlimpBase Smerdon David What s behind the gender imbalance in top level chess The Conversation Retrieved 15 June 2021 Judit Polgar Top Chess Players Chess com Retrieved 15 June 2021 Avrukh Boris 25 June 2009 Super Tournament Participants Boris Avrukh Retrieved 22 April 2010 Judit Polgar Judit Polgar Retrieved 10 February 2014 Moody Oliver 13 August 2014 Queen who exposed the arrogance of kings The Times Archived from the original on 3 October 2015 Retrieved 5 September 2015 Friedel Frederic 13 August 2014 Judit Polgar to retire from competitive chess ChessBase Retrieved 16 August 2014 Her official statement on her retirement Archived from the original on 18 March 2015 Judit Polgar new captain of the Hungarian National Men s Chess Team Chessdom 12 June 2015 Retrieved 5 September 2015 ORDER OF SAINT STEPHEN PRESIDENT ADER HANDS OVER HUNGARY S HIGHEST STATE DECORATION Hungary Today 24 August 2015 Retrieved 5 September 2015 Judit Polgar World Chess Hall of Fame 11 May 2021 Breaking Through How the Polgar Sisters Changed the Game of Chess Everyman Chess 2005 Susan Polgar page 14 a b Shenk David 2006 The Immortal Game Or How 32 carved pieces on a board illuminated our understanding of war art science and the human brain Anchor Canada Random House p 132 ISBN 978 0 385 66227 7 Shvidler Eli 22 November 2007 All the right moves Haaretz Archived from the original on 22 November 2007 Carlisle Rodney P 2009 Encyclopedia of play in today s society Sage Publications Inc p 129 ISBN 978 1 4129 6670 2 Koza Patricia UPI 9 November 1986 Sisters test male domination of chess The Mohave Daily Miner Kingman Arizona p B2 Harold C Schonberg 30 March 1985 Top rated at 15 Girl Challenges Chess World The New York Times Retrieved 16 July 2011 Phillips Sean 15 August 2010 A Gender Divide In The Ultimate Sport Of The Mind NPR Retrieved 21 August 2010 Pandolfini Bruce 2007 Treasure Chess Trivia Quotes Puzzles and Lore from the World s Oldest Game Random House p 84 ISBN 978 0 375 72204 2 Pandolfini chess author and coach writes Judit Polgar is simply the strongest female chess player in history Harold C Schonberg 18 March 1989 Top Rated Female Chess Player Is Just One of Three Stars at Home The New York Times Retrieved 5 April 2011 Bruce Weber 5 August 1992 Chess Moves Are Planned Birthdays Happen The New York Times Retrieved 6 April 2011 a b King Daniel 1993 How Good is Your Chess Dover p 118 ISBN 0 486 42780 3 a b Judit Polgar Biography Judit Polgar Archived from the original on 23 September 2010 Retrieved 19 March 2011 Biography of Susan Polgar Susan Polgar Archived from the original on 14 April 2011 Retrieved 22 March 2011 20 Questions with Susan Polgar Chessville Archived from the original on 10 May 2011 Retrieved 22 March 2011 a b c Judit Polgar in Rocca di Papa Chessbase 7 January 2011 Retrieved 16 January 2011 What Makes a Genius Scientific American 2008 p 102 ISBN 978 1 4042 1401 9 Note From article The Expert Mind by Philip E Ross Aug 2006 issue The Ross article uses the wording proves nurture over nature a b Lyman Shelby 8 January 1989 Talented chess players are all in the Polgar family The Sunday Telegraph Nashua New Hampshire p F 2 Dweck Carol S 2006 Mindset the new psychology of success The Random House Publishing Group p 80 ISBN 978 0 345 47232 8 Desjarlais Robert R 2011 Counterplay An Anthropologist at the Chessboard University of California Press p 140 ISBN 978 0 520 26739 8 Judit Polgar vs Dolfi Drimer Chessgames com Retrieved 15 May 2010 Judit Polgar vs Lev Gutman Chessgames com Retrieved 15 May 2010 Polgar Laszlo 1994 Chess 5334 Problems Combinations and Games Tess Press ISBN 1 884822 31 2 p 1018 diagram 5231 Judit Polgar 1 Metodiev 0 in Spanish Javier Cordero Fernandez Retrieved 22 July 2011 Complete game a b c Schonberg Harold C The Polgar sisters Hungary s triple threat at chess St Petersburg Times Vol 102 no 259 St Petersburg Florida p 19A a b Hearst Eliot Knott John 2009 Blindford chess history psychology techniques champions world records and important games McFarland amp Company Ltd pp 136 137 ISBN 978 0 7864 3444 2 Young masters The Pittsburgh Press Vol 102 no 284 7 April 1986 p A2 Hungarian 9 Wins Tourney Sisters Share Chess Ability Schenectady Gazette Vol XCII no 165 Associated Press 10 April 1986 p 3 Lyman Shelby 8 February 1987 Younger sisters are also proficient The Sunday Telegraph Vol 1 no 45 Nashua and Southern New Hampshire Lyman Shelby 24 April 1988 Tournaments attract 1 060 players The Sunday Telegraph Nashua New Hampshire p F 2 Berry Jonathan 1 October 1988 Youth tourneys are growing trend The Globe and Mail Toronto p C16 C to Mondiale U12 torneionline com Italian Chess Federation Retrieved 27 February 2015 Day Lawrence 4 February 1989 Challenge meet largest ever The Toronto Star p M21 note Day incorrectly gives Judit s age as 10 Score of Polgar Hennigen game is provided with brief analysis Lyman Shelby 30 October 1988 Hungarian girl may be next world champion The Sunday Telegraph Nashua New Hampshire p F 2 a b Girl stuns chess world The Spokesman Review Spokane Wash Associated Press 2 November 1988 p A1 a b Shelby Lyman 30 October 1988 Hungarian girl may be next world champion Nashua New Hampshire The Sunday Telegraph p F 2 3 sisters moving up in male world of chess The Toronto Star Reuters 26 December 1988 p D18 Robert Byne 21 March 1989 Chess The New York Times Retrieved 5 April 2011 Day Lawrence 17 December 1988 Soviet Union captures World team championship The Toronto Star p M21 Byrne Robert 10 January 1989 Chess The New York Times Retrieved 20 April 2010 Koshnitsky Garry 22 January 1989 Polgar highest rated woman The Sun Herald Sydney Australia p 156 FIDE Rating List January 1989 Olimpbase org Retrieved 27 February 2015 a b c Hungarian teen ager achieves rank of chess grandmaster The Globe and Mail Toronto New York Times Service 5 February 1992 p A9 a b c Allott Serena 16 January 2002 Queen takes all London Telegraph Media Group Limited Retrieved 25 April 2010 Lawson Dominic Spectator 15 November 1988 Mastering the world of chess The Age No 41 642 Melbourne Australia p 11 a b Lidz Franz 12 February 1990 Kid With A Killer Game Sports Illustrated Retrieved 30 May 2019 Kasparov Garry 2007 How Life Imitates Chess Making the Right Moves from the Board to the Boardroom Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN 9781596913875 Day Lawrence 13 January 1990 Gelfand takes first for U S S R The Toronto Star p M17 De sterkste schaakspeelster ooit The strongest chess player ever in Dutch Max Euwe Centre 24 April 2020 Retrieved 25 January 2022 Bill Wall Chess in the Movies chessville com Retrieved 1 July 2011 Saylor Mark 5 September 1997 Chess Kids Documentary a Weak Move Los Angeles Times Retrieved 1 July 2011 Berry Jonathan 25 August 1990 Soviet dark horses dominating U S play The Globe and Mail Toronto p F10 Day Lawrence 4 January 1992 Defending champion loses her 13 year title Toronto Star p J11 Note Day writes that with this tournament Polgar collected her third and final Grandmaster norm This implies this was sufficient to earn the GM title but most accounts indicate she won the title with the Hungarian championship in December Vienna 1991 365Chess com Retrieved 8 May 2010 Hungarian chess whiz is youngest grandmaster ever The News Boca Raton Florida 5 February 1992 p 3A Berry Jonathan 8 February 1992 Girl 15 youngest Grandmaster ever The Globe and Mail Toronto p A13 Byrne Robert 28 June 1992 CHESS For Karpov Defeat Only Serves as a Spur The New York Times Retrieved 20 April 2010 Byrne Robert 9 August 1992 Chess Peruvian Wins Reshevsky Memorial The New York Times Retrieved 21 April 2010 Byrne Robert 11 October 1992 CHESS Senior Grandmasters Defeat Women 39 to 33 The New York Times Retrieved 21 April 2010 Byrne Robert 21 February 1993 CHESS A Polgar Triumph Before Her Triumph The New York Times Retrieved 21 April 2010 Lundstrom Harold 26 February 1993 Kasparov primes for defense by breezing through 100 foes The Deseret News Salt Lake City Utah p W8 Berry Jonathan 29 May 1993 More than meets the eyes The Globe and Mail Toronto p A13 Amber blind 2nd Monte Carlo 1993 365Chess com Retrieved 13 May 2010 Berry Jonathan 15 May 1993 Polgar moves up to Interzonal The Globe and Mail Toronto p E9 Budapest zt A Budapest 1993 365Chess com Retrieved 13 May 2010 Budapest zt playoff Budapest 1993 365Chess com Retrieved 13 May 2010 Mark Weeks 1993 Biel FIDE Interzonal Tournament Mark Weeks 1993 Groningen PCA Qualifying Tournament a b Polgar Susan 18 January 2009 Polgar Remembering a chess champion the late Bobby Fischer Lubbock Avalanche Journal Lubbock online Retrieved 2 May 2010 Chun Rene December 2002 Bobby Fischer s Pathetic Endgame theAtlantic com Retrieved 2 May 2010 Ingram Judith 7 August 1993 Fischer teen ager to match chess skills Bangor Daily News Vol 105 no 44 Bangor Maine p 7 Byrne Robert 7 June 1994 Chess The New York Times Retrieved 21 April 2010 PGN File Events 1994 chessopolis com Archived from the original on 15 April 2010 Retrieved 21 April 2010 Madrid 1994 ChessMetrics com Retrieved 21 April 2010 Day Lawrence 4 February 1995 Russian master first again The Toronto Star p K14 9 Lev Polugajevky Tourn Buenos Aires 1994 Chessgames com Retrieved 21 April 2010 Byrne Robert 13 December 1994 Chess The New York Times Retrieved 21 April 2010 Peters Jack 5 September 1995 Chess Los Angeles Times p A18 Day Lawrence 23 September 1995 Milicevic takes top spot The Toronto Star p L14 Donner mem Amsterdam 1995 365Chess com Retrieved 8 May 2010 Byrne Robert 12 December 1995 Chess The New York Times Retrieved 22 April 2010 Day Lawrence 15 July 1995 Oddest story of the year The Toronto Star p L12 Day Lawrence 14 October 1995 FIDE grinds to a halt The Toronto Star p K14 Isle of Lewis 1995 365Chess com Retrieved 8 May 2010 a b Berry Jonathan 19 March 1994 Victory boosts Karpov s rating The Globe and Mail Toronto p A18 a b c d ten Geuzendam Dirk Jan 2001 Linares Linares A Journey into the Heart of Chess New In Chess pp 72 80 ISBN 978 9056910778 Peters Jack 5 January 1995 Chess Highlights of 1994 print and online column The Los Angeles Times p 27 Retrieved 28 April 2016 What made 1994 a memorable year for chess Certainly it had its share of controversial incidents led by the touch move dispute in which Garry Kasparov took back a move against Judit Polgar Berry Jonathan Berry 19 March 1994 Victory boosts Karpov s rating print column The Globe and Mail Toronto p A18 ProQuest 385234867 Retrieved 5 September 2022 via ProQuest Mr Kasparov picked up his knight at d7 and placed it on c5 Touch move requires a player to move a touched piece but the move is not over until the hand leaves the piece Seeing that 37 Bb7 c6 would be bad for Black Mr Kasparov instead put the knight on f8 However the way Miss Polgar saw it Mr Kasparov s hand did leave the piece on c5 Accounts diverge from there We do know that Spanish TV recorded the game and that there were several spectators some of whom thought that Mr Kasparov removed his hand from the knight at c5 Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine Linares Chess Tournament part 2 YouTube a b c Lyman Shelby 1 May 1994 Kasparov s Hand Quicker Than Eye Spartanburg Herald Journal Barden Leonard 19 March 1994 CHESS Financial Times UK pp WEEKEND FT XXI Retrieved 24 June 2020 Video film stills confirmed that Kasparov s hand had quit the knight for about a quarter of a second Berry Jonathan 26 March 1994 Kasparov caught on videotape Globe and Mail Toronto p E7 During round 5 of the Linares tournament March 1 World Champion Gary Kasparov started to move his knight from d7 to c5 but reconsidered and played the knight to f8 a b Barden Leonard 11 September 2002 Sweet revenge for Kasparov s opponent The Guardian Retrieved 25 April 2010 Kasparov Interview New In Chess March 1994 reprinted in ten Geuzendam Dirk Jan 1994 Finding Bobby Fischer Chess Interviews New In Chess pp 72 80 ISBN 978 9071689864 and ten Geuzendam Dirk Jan 2015 Finding Bobby Fischer Chess Interviews New In Chess pp 72 80 ISBN 978 9056915728 Lundstrom Harold 27 May 1994 Kasparov comes out on top in tourne Deseret News Salt Lake City Utah p C6 The January 1996 FIDE ratings list was a landmark as Polgar s 2675 rating made her the No 10 ranked player in the world the only woman ever to enter the world s Top Ten Berry Jonathan 6 January 1996 Kramnick 20 Tops the rating list The Globe and Mail Toronto p A12 Day Lawrence 12 October 1996 A close finish in Vienna The Toronto Star p K12 Vienna Millenium 1996 365Chess com Retrieved 8 May 2010 Byrne Robert 14 January 1997 Chess The New York Times Retrieved 23 April 2010 Day Lawrence 1 March 1997 Tournament was just super The Toronto Star p K12 Linares 14th 1997 365chess com Retrieved 10 May 2010 Berry Jonathan 1 March 1997 Kasparov humbles younger rivals The Globe and Mail Toronto p E10 Dos Hermanas 1997 Chessgames com Retrieved 23 April 2010 India Abroad highbeam com 25 April 1997 Archived from the original on 4 November 2012 Retrieved 23 April 2010 Berry Jonathan 14 June 1997 Topalov s at the top in Madrid The Globe and Mail Toronto p E11 a b Byrne Robert 26 August 1997 Chess The New York Times Retrieved 23 April 2010 Berry Jonathan 16 August 1997 Polgar wins one in battle of sexes The Globe and Mail Toronto p E11 Byrne Robert 9 December 1997 CHESS Daring Judit Polgar to Attack Is an Invitation to Disaster The New York Times Retrieved 23 April 2010 Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens 1998 Chessgames com Retrieved 24 April 2010 Berry Jonathan 7 February 1998 Kramnik Anand tie in Hoogooven The Globe and Mail Toronto p E11 Note The Berry article used the spelling Hoogooven Byrne Robert 7 July 1998 Chess Faster and More Accurate Polgar Outplays Karpov The New York Times Retrieved 24 April 2010 Byrne Robert 25 August 1998 CHESS Polgar Is First Woman to Win the Open The New York Times Retrieved 24 April 2010 a b Berry Jonathan 14 November 1998 Polgar sparkles again in the attack The Globe and Mail Toronto p E8 VAM Hoogeveen 2nd Hoogeveen 1998 365Chess com Retrieved 15 May 2010 Crowther Mark THE WEEK IN CHESS 212 30 November 1998 This Week In Chess Archived from the original on 5 February 2012 Retrieved 24 April 2010 Crowther Mark 25 October 1999 The Week In Chess 259 The Week In Chess Archived from the original on 30 September 2011 Retrieved 24 April 2010 Crowther Mark 10 January 2000 The Week In Chess 270 The Week In Chess Archived from the original on 30 September 2011 Retrieved 24 April 2010 Crowther Mark 31 January 2000 The Week In Chess 273 The Week In Chess Archived from the original on 7 August 2011 Retrieved 24 April 2010 Byrne Robert 16 January 2000 CHESS Polgar Just One of the Boys Hems In a Russian s Queen The New York Times Retrieved 24 April 2010 Berry Jonathan 13 May 2000 Chess The Globe and Mail Toronto p R29 Byrne Robert 11 June 2000 CHESS Polgar Tops an Elite Field With a Last Round Victory The New York Times Retrieved 24 April 2010 Japfa Classic Indonesia Chess GR Archived from the original on 14 May 2011 Retrieved 24 April 2010 Polgar clearly first in strong Asian tourney The Washington Times 6 May 2000 Byrne Robert 2 July 2000 CHESS Polgar s Foe Misses a Move And That s All She Needs The New York Times Retrieved 24 April 2010 a b Some events in the year 2000 This Week in Chess Archived from the original on 18 March 2012 Retrieved 24 April 2010 Crowther Mark 13 November 2000 34th Chess Olympiad This Week In Chess Archived from the original on 18 March 2012 Retrieved 25 April 2010 35th Chess Olympiad 2002 The Chess Drum Archived from the original on 16 April 2010 Retrieved 25 April 2010 Berry Jonathan 3 March 2001 Chess The Globe and Mail Toronto p R19 Berry Jonathan 10 March 2001 Chess The Globe and Mail Toronto p R17 Byrne Robert 1 April 2001 Kasparov douses his old rival Karpov With a Bucket of Tactics The Ledger Lakeland Florida p D9 Linares 18th Linares 2001 365Chess com Retrieved 6 May 2010 a b c Burgess David 31 March 2001 To Men Losing to Judit Polgar Is No Disgrace Tigress of the Chessboard Purrs Quietly and Pounces The New York Times Retrieved 25 April 2010 Byrne Robert 1 July 2001 CHESS Another War in Macedonia Yields an Israeli Victor 23 The New York Times Retrieved 25 April 2010 Byrne Robert 11 November 2001 CHESS Old Style Barroom Brawl At the Hoogeveen Corral The New York Times Retrieved 25 April 2010 a b Pein Malcolm Russia vs The Rest of the World Moscow 2002 This Week In Chess Archived from the original on 30 September 2011 Retrieved 7 May 2010 Byrne Robert 29 September 2002 CHESS Finally the Rest of the World Triumphs Over Russia 52 48 The New York Times Retrieved 25 April 2010 Round one shocker Battle of the Sexes chessbase com 25 November 2004 Retrieved 27 April 2010 The Queen of Chess who defeated Kasparov BBC News 10 February 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Judit Polgar vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Bled 2002 Olympiad Chessgames com Retrieved 25 April 2010 Aaron Arvind Crowther Mark Wilkinson Ian Shabazz Daaim Pein Malcolm 35th Chess Olympiad Bled 2002 olimpbase org Retrieved 25 April 2010 The top sportswoman The Globe and Mail Toronto 11 February 2003 p A20 Top 100 Players April 2003 Archive FIDE Retrieved 16 May 2010 Pein Malcolm 17 January 2003 Polgar crushes Karpov London Telegraph Media Group Limited Retrieved 26 April 2010 Byrne Robert 11 May 2003 CHESS Polgar Starts Mightily Then Collides With Leko The New York Times Retrieved 26 April 2010 Evans Larry 27 July 2003 Chess Politics Collided In 1930s Russia Sun Sentinel Archived from the original on 25 July 2011 Retrieved 26 April 2010 note Larry Evans refers to Polgar Hungary s Judith Polgar 26 the strongest female in history Evans Larry 27 July 2004 Chess politics collided in 1930s Russia South Florida Sun Sentinel Fort Lauderdale Florida p 6D Byrne Robert 13 July 2003 A Clever Knight Sacrifice but an Even Cleverer Trap The New York Times Retrieved 25 April 2010 Polgar Anand Rapid Match Chessgames com Retrieved 26 April 2010 Chess Anand wins last two games to beat Polgar Star Publications Malaysia Berhad Associated Press Archived from the original on 22 June 2011 Retrieved 26 April 2010 Berry Jonathan 8 November 2003 Chess The Globe and Mail Toronto p R23 Essent Crown Hoogeveen 2003 365Chess com Retrieved 16 May 2010 Emanuel Lasker vs Johann Hermann Bauer Amsterdam 1889 Chessgames com Retrieved 16 May 2010 Judit Polgar vs Anatoli Karpov 7th Essent 2003 Chessgames com Retrieved 16 May 2010 Why Judit Polgar was not on the ratings list 14 January 2005 Byrne Robert 13 February 2005 After His Victory at the Corus Leko Is Firmly in the Top Tier The New York Times Retrieved 27 April 2010 Veselin Topalov triumphs Anand finishes second The Hindu 23 May 2005 Archived from the original on 24 May 2005 Retrieved 27 April 2010 FIDE October 2005 rating lists Chessbase com 12 October 2005 Retrieved 27 April 2010 Berry Jonathan 16 April 2005 Chess The Globe and Mail Toronto p R23 Byrne Robert 9 October 2005 Chess When Lofty Titles Are at Stake Nerves Can Lead to Blunders The New York Times Retrieved 27 April 2010 Anand draws again at World Championships Rediff com 5 October 2005 Retrieved 27 April 2010 Grischuk wins FIDE World Blitz Championship Chessbase com 12 September 2006 Retrieved 28 April 2010 Pein Malcolm 1 October 2006 The Sunday chess column London Telegraph Media Group Limited Retrieved 28 April 2010 Lyman Shelby 14 October 2006 Chess Bangor Daily News Bangor Maine p H6 Essent 2006 Mamedyarov Judit Polgar are the winners 29 October 2006 Bilbao blindfold Topalov beats Polgar 3 2 Chessbase com 11 December 2006 Retrieved 28 April 2010 Bulgaria s Topalov to play chess blindfold against Italy s Brunetti The Sofia Echo 8 May 2007 Archived from the original on 30 September 2011 Retrieved 29 April 2010 Gulko Boris Schoenfeld Gabriel 6 July 2007 Mommy Track Chess The New York Sun Retrieved 16 April 2023 Magnus Carlsen wins Biel 2007 chessdom com Archived from the original on 7 May 2010 Retrieved 30 April 2010 Pein Malcolm 31 July 2007 Howell wins fellowship London Telegraph Media Group Limited Retrieved 30 April 2010 McClain Dylan Leob 1 August 2007 Onischuk and Radjabov Take Over Lead at Biel as Carlsen Stumbles Again The New York Times Retrieved 30 April 2010 Alexander Grischuk vs Judit Polgar Biel Chess Festival 2007 Chessgames com Retrieved 30 April 2010 McClain Dylan Loeb 21 October 2007 Mamedyarov Wins Essent Bu Wins in Bilbao The New York Times Retrieved 30 April 2010 World Blindfold Chess Cup chessdom com Archived from the original on 31 December 2010 Retrieved 30 April 2010 Bilbao Blindfold Chess World Cup Tournament Chessgames com Retrieved 30 April 2010 Speelman Jonathan 18 November 2007 Speelman on chess The Observer London Retrieved 28 April 2010 Mione Dario 15 November 2007 Karpov on the way out Retrieved 28 April 2010 Wijk R13 Aronian Carlsen win Wijk aan Zee 2008 chessbase com 28 January 2008 Retrieved 30 April 2010 Dominguez Perez wins World Blitz Championship in Almaty chessbase com 8 November 2009 Retrieved 30 April 2010 Pein Malcolm 21 December 2009 Marathon man London Telegraph Media Group Limited Retrieved 30 April 2010 Dondis Harold Wolff Patrick 20 March 2010 Chess Notes The Boston Globe Retrieved 30 April 2010 Pein Malcolm 11 March 2010 Coming to a head London Telegraph Media Group Limited Retrieved 30 April 2010 Polgar routes Navara 6 2 in CEZ Chess Trophy chessbase com 28 April 2010 Retrieved 30 April 2010 Vladimir Kramnik is the winner Azerbaijan Chess Federation Archived from the original on 23 August 2010 Retrieved 2 May 2010 Pictorial report from Zalakaros Chessbase com 23 June 2010 Retrieved 24 June 2010 Board prizes after Round 11 Open section ugra chess com Archived from the original on 3 October 2010 Retrieved 3 October 2010 Crowther Mark 3 October 2010 Ukraine win the Olympiad for the 2nd time This Week In Chess Archived from the original on 11 October 2012 Retrieved 3 October 2010 McClain Dylan Loeb 27 November 2010 Manager Blames Marriage for His Star s Slump The New York Times Archived from the original on 3 January 2022 Retrieved 28 November 2010 Judith Polgar defeats Veselin Topalov to claim the UNAM Torneo Cuadrangular Chessdom Archived from the original on 25 November 2010 Retrieved 28 November 2010 Judith Polgar defeats Vassily Ivanchuk in day 1 of Torneo Cuadrangular Chessdom Archived from the original on 23 November 2010 Retrieved 28 November 2010 Leonard Barden 1 August 2011 Chess with Leonard Barden London Evening Standard Archived from the original on 11 August 2011 Retrieved 1 August 2011 Position analysis Judit Polgar vs Romain Edouard 12th European Individual Championship 2011 Sicilian Defense Lasker Pelikan Sveshnikov Variation B33 1 0 Chessgames com Retrieved 1 August 2011 Complete game European Individual Chess Championship Aix les Bains RESULTS Chess Results com Retrieved 2 April 2011 Potkin wins EICC on tiebreak Susan Polgar 3 April 2011 Retrieved 3 April 2011 Leonard Barden 8 April 2011 Judit Polgar wows European Championship with mother of all displays Guardian News and Media Limited Retrieved 9 April 2011 Russian wins Europe s chess championship Voice of Russia 3 April 2011 Archived from the original on 5 April 2011 Retrieved 3 April 2011 Mark Crowther 26 July 2011 Armenia take 8th World Chess Teams This Week In Chess Archived from the original on 12 October 2012 Retrieved 3 August 2011 Dylan Loeb McClain 3 September 2011 U S College Student Makes a Stand at the World Cup The New York Times Archived from the original on 3 January 2022 Retrieved 10 September 2011 Polgar Eliminates 1 Seed At World Cup Chess com 4 September 2011 Retrieved 10 September 2011 PETER SVIDLER I WANTED A BLOODY FIGHT FIDE World Chess Cup 10 September 2011 Archived from the original on 7 July 2012 Retrieved 10 September 2011 Unive 2011 Archived from the original on 23 October 2011 Retrieved 23 October 2011 Top 100 Players November 2011 FIDE Retrieved 1 November 2011 FIDE ratings list resurgence is the name of the game Chessbase com Archived from the original on 24 October 2012 Retrieved 1 September 2011 22 ev utan kapott ki notol Polgar Judit in Hungarian index hu February 2012 Retrieved 28 July 2015 John Saunders Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012 Archived from the original on 9 March 2012 Retrieved 3 February 2012 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012 Masters Chess results com Retrieved 3 February 2012 Klein Mike 23 September 2013 Death Match 18 Going Toe to Stiletto Chess com Retrieved 2013 11 05 Judit Polgar Official Retrieved 5 November 2013 nigelshortchess Retrieved 5 November 2013 Frederic Friedel Judit Polgar to retire from competitive chess ChessBase com 13 August 2014 a b Anand describes Polgar s playing style Archived from the original on 25 August 2008 Retrieved 27 July 2009 Kasparov Garry 2007 How life imitates chess making the right moves from the board to the boardroom Bloomsbury p 137 ISBN 978 1 59691 387 5 Day Lawrence 6 March 1993 Sisters winning pair The Toronto Star p J8 Burgess Graham 2009 The Mammoth Book of Chess Constable amp Robinson p 124 ISBN 978 1 84529 931 6 Mainka Jan 15 June 2010 Less Aggressive but still taking the initiative The Budapest Times Retrieved 21 June 2010 Savinov Misha 24 June 2005 Women s chess Jennifer Shahade s opinion e3e5 com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Retrieved 16 November 2010 Lyman Shelby 7 March 1993 Women men are equal across the chessboard Spartanburg Herald Journal Spartanburg South Carolina p C7 Polgar interview speaking of psychology in chess Archived from the original on 28 May 2009 Retrieved 27 July 2009 Polgar quote in Independent on computers in chess The Independent London 21 October 2002 Retrieved 27 July 2009 dead link a b Judit Polgar I just can t live without chess Chessdom Archived from the original on 27 February 2010 Retrieved 1 May 2010 a b Lars Grahn August 2011 Judit Polgar The best ever woman player talks candidly to Lars Grahn Chess Vol 76 no 5 United Kingdom p 22 a b CHESS Magazine Judit Polgar on life as a Super GM mom Chessbase com 12 August 2011 Retrieved 14 August 2011 Tagore Vijay 24 February 2008 Kramnik is the toughest Diligent Media Corporation Ltd Retrieved 30 April 2010 Evgeniy Najer and Ian Nepomniachtchi lead Maccabiah International Chess Festival 2009 Chessdom Chess Archived from the original on 29 July 2017 Retrieved 27 July 2017 Best of the best via PressReader McClain Dylan Loeb 1 May 2010 The Best Woman in the Game Still Stands Alone at the Top The New York Times Archived from the original on 3 January 2022 Retrieved 2 May 2010 Chess Playground Judit Polgar Archived from the original on 11 July 2011 Retrieved 17 July 2011 Judit receives the Order of Merit Judit Polgar Archived from the original on 3 April 2016 Retrieved 8 March 2016 The Brief History of the Week The Budapest Times budapesttimes hu Archived from the original on 4 September 2014 Retrieved 8 March 2016 Order Of Saint Stephen President Ader Hands Over Hungary s Highest State Decoration Hungary Today Hungary Today 24 August 2015 Retrieved 8 March 2016 Polgar Judit Judit Polgar Gregory Kaidanov Match Players MonRoi Inc Archived from the original on 26 November 2010 Retrieved 24 April 2010 Biography on her website Juditpolgar com 23 July 1976 Archived from the original on 4 April 2013 Retrieved 17 February 2013 https www chesspower co nz blog 325743 Forbes Cathy The Polgar Sisters Training or Genius Garcia Leontxo 4 July 1999 La hungara Judit Polgar crea arte y vence a Anand en el torneo de Dos Hermanas in Spanish el pais Retrieved 6 February 2011 Seagaard Chess Reviews Judit Polgar The Princess of Chess Seagaard Retrieved 20 July 2011 Nikolay Minev The Vera Menchik Club PDF The Chess Library Archived from the original PDF on 17 September 2021 Retrieved 20 July 2011 mission JP CHESS FOUNDATION Peto Sandor 24 October 2013 Hungary s Chess Palace helps kids to learn and play Reuters via www reuters com Academy Chess Rising Stars 17 October 2016 Global Chess Festival with the Polgars Chess Rising Stars Academy Judit and the 2012 FIDE Caissa Award October 2013 Sakkozok kituntetese in Hungarian sakk terasz hu Archived from the original on 9 November 2014 Retrieved 4 December 2014 Polgar Judit es Eotvos Peter kapja a legmagasabb allami kituntetest Index hu MTI 19 August 2015 Retrieved 19 August 2015 Honorary citizens of Budapest 19 June 2016 Queen of chess Judit Polgar honoured by UCD student society October 2013 European Golden Pawn Award Ceremony Judit Polgar received Honorary Doctorate from the Budapest University of Physical Education Judith Polgar Miguel Najdorf and Eugenio Torre have been officially inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame JUDIT POLGAR AN INTERNATIONAL CHESS FEDERATION ICON August 2022 Notes Edit Then as she could not be removed from the list for the next 12 months on the March 2015 rating list she was officially overtaken by Chinese player Hou Yifan she was the No 1 again in the August 2015 women s rating list in her last appearance in the FIDE world rankings Literature EditForbes Cathy 1992 The Polgar Sisters Training or Genius Henry Holt amp Co ISBN 0 8050 2426 3 Hurst Sarah 2002 Curse of Kirsan Adventures in the Chess Underworld Russell Enterprises ISBN 1 888690 15 1 Karolyi Tibor 2004 Judit Polgar the Princess of Chess Batsford ISBN 0 7134 8890 5 Polgar Susan Truong Paul 2005 Breaking Through How the Polgar Sisters Changed the Game of Chess Everyman Chess ISBN 1 85744 381 0 Shahade Jennifer 2005 Chess Bitch Women In The Ultimate Intellectual Sport Siles Press ISBN 1 890085 09 X Polgar Judit Kepes Andras 2008 Matt a ferfiaknak Checkmate to Men English translation due 2009 Polgar Judit 2010 Chess Playground Caissa Hungary ISBN 978 963 06 9620 3External links EditJudit Polgar at Wikipedia s sister projects Media from Commons Data from Wikidata Official website Judit Polgar rating card at FIDE Judit Polgar player profile and games at Chessgames com Judit Polgar chess games at 365Chess com Judit Polgar Chess Olympiad record at OlimpBase org Judit Polgar player profile at Chess com Judit Polgar at Curlie Review of Judit Polgar The Princess of Chess EasyChess info Archived from the original on 11 May 2008 Lawson Dominic 13 September 2011 Even a genius can t have it all if she s a woman The Independent London archived from the original on 26 October 2011 retrieved 2 September 2017 2012 Interview of Judit Polgar Judit Polgar s perfect weekend Interview for BBC Radio 4 Woman s Hour Archived 29 March 2014 at the Wayback MachineAchievementsPreceded byBobby Fischer Youngest chess grandmaster ever1991 1994 Succeeded byPeter Leko Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Judit Polgar amp oldid 1152701648, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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