JUDIT POLGAR (born Jul-23-1976, 49 years old) Hungary PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] Judit Polgar is universally considered the strongest woman chess player ever. She was #1 woman player in the world for an unbroken period of over 26 years starting from the age of 12 in 1989 when she burst into the world's top 100 until her retirement from competitive chess in August 2014, aged 38, and into 2015 while her rating was still active. She was born in Hungary in 1976. Her childhood included an extensive chess education from her father, Laszlo, and her sisters. Beginning international competition as early as 1984, Polgar first defeated an International Master in Adelaide in 1986, when she beat Dolfi Drimer, and a year later the then 11 year old girl defeated her first grandmaster, Lev Gutman. In 1988 she won the U12 Boys World Championship, and in 1990, the U14 Boys World Championship. In 1991 she became an International Grandmaster by winning the "men's" Hungarian championship and at the age of fifteen years and five months, she was the youngest grandmaster in history, breaking a record that Robert James Fischer had held for over 30 years. She has been the highest-rated woman ever since FIDE's January 1990 list, and in 2003 she entered the overall top ten. In 2005, she became the first woman to take part in the final of an open world championship cycle when she participated in the FIDE World Championship Tournament (2005). Although she finished last, her participation in this event seeded her into the 2007 Candidates playoff for the World Championship Tournament in Mexico City, but she bowed out in the Candidates Match: Polgar - Bareev (2007) by 3.5-2.5. Polgar's career-best tournament performances include four victories at Essent (twice shared), first in London 1988, first in Varna 1988, equal first with Bareev in Hastings 1992/93, clear first at Madrid 1994, first at the Isle of Lewis 1995 (1), equal first in the 1998 US Open, first at the VAM Tournament in Hoogeveen in 1998, first at the category 16 Japfa Classic in Bali in 2000, first at the the Sigeman & Company International Tournament in Malmo, equal first at the Najdorf Chess Festival 2000, fourth in the 2001 European Championship which fielded 143 GMs in a 13-round Swiss-system tournament, first at Superstars Hotel Bali (2002), clear second at Corus at Corus Group A (2003) and equal first at the European Championship (2011), the first time a woman has stood on the podium in this immensely competitive tournament that on this occasion attracted 167 grandmasters; her result also qualified her for participation in the World Cup (2011), where she defeated Cuban GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Armenian GM Sergei Movsesian, and Russian GM Sergey Karjakin and Cuban GM, Leinier Dominguez Perez in the first four rounds, but lost her quarter final match against the eventual winner, Russian GM Peter Svidler, to exit the contest. She was one of the President's nominees to play in the World Cup (2013), where she faced Cuban #4 player, GM Isan Reynaldo Ortiz Suarez in the first round, losing the first game and drawing the second. Polgar represented Hungary at the (open) Olympiads in 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. During that time she won two team silver medals, and an individual bronze medal, both occurring at the 2002 Olympiad and the second team silver in 2014. During the Istanbul Olympiad (2012) held in Istanbul, she played on board 3 scoring 7.5/10 which yielded a TPR of 2744, her best result since the Istanbul Olympiad of 2000. Her overall game results from her participation in Olympiads now amounts to 85 games (+35 =35 -15) with a winning percentage of 61.8%. She represented Hungary twice in the European Team Championships, once in 1989 and then again in 1999, on the latter occasion helping her team to its best result, a silver medal, and also winning an individual silver medal for her result on board 2. In rapids, Polgar's best results include equal first with Viswanathan Anand in the Wydra rapid in Israel in 1998, defeating David Navara 6-2 in a rapid match in the Czech Republic in 2010, and defeating Vassily Ivanchuk 2.5-1.5 and Veselin Topalov 3.5-0.5 to win the rapid Ajedrez UNAM Quadrangular (2010). She won an invitational rapid tournament, Festa da Uva (Grape Celebration), in Caxias do Sul in Brazil in early 2012, ahead of Henrique Mecking, Gilberto Milos and Andres Rodriguez Vila the contest was a round robin featuring 2 game mini-matches between each player, with one rapid and one blitz game in each match. (2) She played in the European Championship (2014) but only scored 6.5/11, losing a couple of games in the last few rounds of the tournament and failing to qualify for the World Cup 2015. Polgar first entered the top 100 in January 1989 at the age of 12 when her rating skyrocketed to 2555 and number 55 in the world, and she has remained in the top 100 since then. She remains the youngest player by far to enter the top 100. Her standard rating as of 1 February 2015 is 2675 making her the world's top rated woman, Hungary's #4 player, and world #66; her peak rating was 2735 in 2005, when she was ranked #8 in the world. She is rated 2646 in rapid (world #100 and Women's world #1) and 2736 (world #30 & women's world #1) in blitz. She lives in Budapest with her husband, veterinarian Gusztav Font, and their two children, Oliver and Hanna who were born in 2004 and 2006 respectively. In late 2012, she released her autobiography "How I Beat Fischer's Record". (3) In August 2014, she announced her retirement from competitive chess after 25 years as the top rated woman in chess. (4) *** (1) 365chess: http://www.365chess.com/tournaments... (2) Chessbase "Grape Celebration with Judit Polgar" http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp... (3) Chessbase "Judit Polgar: How I beat Fischer's record" http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp... (4) Chessbase "Judit Polgar to retire from competitive chess" http://en.chessbase.com/post/judit-... - Article in the Independent dated 24 November 2012: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p... - Personal website: http://www.polgarjudit.com/index_en... - Psychology Today article titled "The Grandmaster Experiment" http://www.psychologytoday.com/arti... - John Miller's (User: wanabe2000) collection of games and tournaments of the Polgar sisters: Game Collection: Zsuzsa (Susan), Zsofia, and Judit Polgar - Live rating: http://www.2700chess.com/women - Polgar's Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/GMJuditPolgar - Q & A between Polgar and fans: http://www.crestbook.com/en/node/1668 - https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast... (2017 podcast interview with Ben Johnson of Perpetual Chess) - Audio-visual collage of Polgar Chessday 2009: http://www.timeapictures.com/en/jud... (link in print underneath photo array) - Wikipedia article: Judit Polgar Last updated: 2021-07-23 08:34:41

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page 1 of 73; games 1-25 of 1,823  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. J Polgar vs Szendrei 1-0 21 1984 Budapest B90 Sicilian, Najdorf 2. I Balogh vs J Polgar 0-1 28 1984 Budapest B30 Sicilian 3. J Polgar vs H Grooten 1-0 22 1984 Blindfold game B83 Sicilian 4. J Polgar vs T Halasz 1-0 26 1985 Training game B01 Scandinavian 5. J Polgar vs T Hutters 1-0 41 1986 Copenhagen B32 Sicilian 6. J Polgar vs Z Simic 1-0 42 1986 New York Open Section VII C10 French 7. I Majul vs J Polgar 0-1 64 1986 Wch U16 Girls A37 English, Symmetrical 8. J Polgar vs O Capo Iturrieta 0-1 59 1986 Wch U16 Girls B83 Sicilian 9. J Polgar vs S Nagabhusanam   1-0 49 1986 Wch U16 Girls B53 Sicilian 10. J Polgar vs N Bojkovic 1-0 71 1986 Wch U16 Girls B30 Sicilian 11. J Polgar vs S Villegas   1-0 45 1986 Wch U16 Girls C30 King's Gambit Declined 12. V Alvarez vs J Polgar   0-1 37 1986 Wch U16 Girls B20 Sicilian 13. J Polgar vs I Kientzler-Guerlain 1-0 34 1986 Wch U16 Girls B90 Sicilian, Najdorf 14. M Riofrio Palma vs J Polgar   0-1 23 1986 Wch U16 Girls A46 Queen's Pawn Game 15. A Hernandez Bonilla vs J Polgar 0-1 36 1986 Wch U16 Girls A36 English 16. J Polgar vs S Djuric 0-1 45 1986 Australian Open 1986/87 C30 King's Gambit Declined 17. J Polgar vs E Mednis 0-1 44 1987 Australian Open 1986/87 C15 French, Winawer 18. J Polgar vs D Drimer 1-0 62 1987 Australian Open 1986/87 B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 19. J Polgar vs K Hornung 1-0 54 1987 Australian Open 1986/87 C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit 20. T Hay vs J Polgar 1-0 31 1987 Australian Open 1986/87 B83 Sicilian 21. B Leverett vs J Polgar 0-1 30 1987 New York Open U-2400 A57 Benko Gambit 22. F Gobet vs J Polgar   1-0 58 1987 Biel Mix B80 Sicilian, Scheveningen 23. J Polgar vs I Nemet   ½-½ 15 1987 Biel Mix B70 Sicilian, Dragon Variation 24. J Polgar vs B Zueger   0-1 49 1987 Biel Mix C14 French, Classical 25. A Huss vs J Polgar   ½-½ 53 1987 Biel Mix A59 Benko Gambit  page 1 of 73; games 1-25 of 1,823

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 78 OF 78 ·  Later Kibitzing> Feb-02-26    Petrosianic: <Her suggestion that women’s titles be abolished has a lot of merit,> The whole idea of a Women's International Master is like saying anyone over 1700 in Alaska is an Alaska Master. I'm amazed that these days, when people get offended about everything that few are offended by this. The whole thing is reminiscent of that story where Arthur Dake came to New York for the first time, and was asked by street hustler Lester Samuels where he came from. When Dake said Oregon, Samuels said "Oregon is Knight Odds", and wanted to spot him a Knight. Dake correctly perceived it as an insult, and insisted on playing even. (I would have swallowed the insult, and taken the knight, to see what excuse Samuels would make if he lost.) <Titled players sometimes get to waive entry fees at Swiss tournaments. Back when I used to play in tournaments there were no women playing at smaller tournaments and very few in larger ones. Removing one of the few perks reasonably strong women get seems counterproductive.> So what if there are no women, as long as they aren't being kept out or dissuaded from entering in any way? We're not supposed to be judging players by their gender in the first place. Feb-02-26    plang: Polgar suggesting that women's titles be abolished isn't going to win any favor with other women. I don't see what the harm is in having womens titles and it would cause a lot of friction abolishing them (particularly since, presumably, there is still a goal of attracting more women to the game. Women have the choice of, like Polgar, competing with men or competing just in womens events (or a mixture of the two). If we are going to propose something controversial why not a minimum rating of 2600 to achieve GM (instead of 2500). Maybe 2500 made sense 50 years ago but it seems a bit low nowadays. Then perhaps maybe you wouldn't a second category labeled "super GMs". Feb-03-26    Petrosianic: <plang: Polgar suggesting that women's titles be abolished isn't going to win any favor with other women.> Probably not, though I'm not sure who takes those titles seriously. Probably eventually men will start identifying as women just to get the title. After all, you don't even have to be a Master to get the WFM title, just have a 2100 rating. Levy is so keen to become a GM, he's probably WGM strength right now if he would just claim to be. He could always change back after he got the title. Feb-03-26    FM David H. Levin: <Petrosianic: <plang: Polgar suggesting that women's titles be abolished isn't going to win any favor with other women.> Probably not, though I'm not sure who takes those titles seriously.> My impression is that in the world at large, those titles enable far more of their holders to teach chess professionally than would be case without those titles. (I'm not suggesting that this should necessarily be the overriding consideration in whether these titles should remain.) Feb-03-26    Petrosianic: <FM David H. Levin>: <My impression is that in the world at large, those titles enable far more of their holders to teach chess professionally than would be case without those titles.> Yes, I'm sure that having some kind of shingle to hang out is enormously valuable for a teacher. I'm still convinced that that's why Bernie Zuckerman played something like 8 GM draws out of 11 games in the 1969 US Championship. He wasn't there to win, just to make the best score possible, and being able to say he broke even in the US Championship two years running is a commodity. Of course these days people have their rating, but ratings can change. You get a Master certificate if you pass 2200, but if you're rating drops back under, who's going to know unless you're ostentatious about telling them? (I never saw anybody silk screen their Master Certificate on a T-shirt, but I always wanted to). Feb-04-26    OhioChessFan: <Petro: (I never saw anybody silk screen their Master Certificate on a T-shirt, but I always wanted to). > A certain Life Master in Florida might run with that idea if he sees it. Feb-04-26    saffuna: "Queen of Chess" debuts in two days on Netflix. Feb-07-26    saffuna: OK, I watched it. Took about three hours to get through the 90 minutes, as it was so rich I had to pause and rewatch so much. Review the feature games here at chessgames,. try to see what other players appeared, etc. As I feared, it was set up largely as Polgar vs. Kasparov, but even that has its positive, as it serves as a portrait of Kasparov as well. Otherwise...absolutely outstanding. Excellent pacing, informative, with an amazing amount of archival material--photos, videos, interviews, newspapers--going back to the 80s. The people who made the movie did some serious searching (unless the Polgars already had it all). Focused well on a few games, with Tolnai, Kasparov, Cramling and a couple others. I think it presented her place in chess accurately, as the best woman and one of the world's best, but not one of, say, the top five. There is also great material on the sisters' training: the boards on the wall, the notecards, the positions with variations written in the margins. Deals pretty head-on with the pros and cons of Laszlo's training methods. A few nits to pick, of course--didn't say whether Polgar defeated or drew with Pia Cramling at the 1988 Olympiad, didn't say Kasparov had lost the WC when they played after 2000, didn't say her first victory was rapid not classical, never told us Susan became Women's World Champion. But nothing serious. Feb-07-26    perfidious: Did it mention anything of Judit playing in the 1987 New York Open? Feb-07-26    saffuna: No, as a matter of fact it was a bit deceptive in that regard. It claims the sisters were not allowed to travel (at least not much) outside Hungary until the 1988 Olympiad. Feb-07-26    perfidious: If anyone tells you that bar was absolute, one piece of evidence is: Alex Cherniack (kibitz #1) I also have at least one bulletin from the top group, along with New York Open (1987) to persuade any doubting Thomases. Feb-18-26    YoungEd: I also saw "Queen of Chess" and largely agree with <saffuna>. The chess itself was (I suppose necessarily) watered down a little, but hearing from all three sisters was good. Worthwhile. Feb-18-26    Olavi: Well just look at the games here, or the results in chessmetrics - they travelled the world a lot more than Hungarian teenage boys... Feb-18-26    saffuna: Yes, I do not understand why that claim is made. At least so definitively. Feb-19-26    Sally Simpson: Judit's book; 'How I beat Fischer's Record' (Teaches Chess vol 1.) Goes through her early years. It reads a bit like a diary with some wonderful games and positions annotated in the style of a coach. 100's of anecdotes. A very good chess book. I do not have or read the other 2 'From GM to top 10' and 'A Game of Queens.' Regarding travel abroad, they traveled all over the planet before the 1988 Olympiad looking for Opens with different category tournaments so Susan could play in the top one whilst Judit and Sofia played in the so called minor event. at Egilsstadir (Iceland) in 1998 just before the Olympiad the three sisters and the father all played. This was the only time all four ever played in the same event. Judit reports her father won a great game (and shows the final moves) v Jonfinn Thomsen who was the Faroe Isles board one at the coming Olympiad. Judit mentions being the youngest had the bonus that her parents had a lot experience teaching the other two. Here I suppose any minor errors they noticed teaching the other two were avoided when it came to Judit. Feb-19-26    saffuna: <Judit mentions being the youngest had the bonus that her parents had a lot experience teaching the other two. > The documentary does a good job of presenting the manner in which the girls were raised and trained. It explained it but also looked with a critical eye. Feb-25-26    Olavi: <saffuna: Yes, I do not understand why that claim is made. At least so definitively.> It's part of the image, that the sisters were victims of discrimination. The champion of the art is the oldest sister, I'm disappointed if Judit has given the OK for such a presentation. Feb-25-26    stone free or die: <<Sally> This was the only time all four ever played in the same event.> Is this true? Surprising they never all played in a local Hungarian tournament. Feb-25-26    Sally Simpson: <Stone Free.> Never checked but I'd trust Judit on this one. She said it. It looks like the father did not play all that often. We have no games of his on here. Feb-25-26    stone free or die: Thanks, it wasn't exactly clear the source. I checked for a player card for Laszlo - couldn't find one. He has a profile on ChessBase - but no stats. Feb-26-26    Olavi: Laszlo Polgar played in the Hungarian championships finals at least once. He scored 10/ 21 in 1968, Szabo gives his win in his selected games. Feb-27-26    perfidious: Susan was born the following year, and he never saw the light of day again. Feb-27-26    stone free or die: Can we get any of <Polgar Laszlo>'s games into the db? Even the ending stub <Sally> mentions, but the full game <Olavi> cites would be even better. . Feb-27-26    Olavi: I'll type that game later - somehow I seem to remember having seen some other games in Schach-Echo in the sixties, but that may be a false memory. Feb-27-26    stone free or die: Thanks in advance <Olavi>. I think <CG> will be the only DB with a Laszlo game then (I think). Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 78) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 78 OF 78 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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