JUDIT POLGAR (born Jul-23-1976, 48 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 1,809  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. J Polgar vs S Villegas   1-0 45 1986 Wch U16 Girls C30 King's Gambit Declined 8. V Alvarez vs J Polgar   0-1 37 1986 Wch U16 Girls B20 Sicilian 9. J Polgar vs O Capo Iturrieta 0-1 59 1986 Wch U16 Girls B83 Sicilian 10. J Polgar vs N Bojkovic 1-0 71 1986 Wch U16 Girls B30 Sicilian 11. J Polgar vs S Nagabhusanam   1-0 49 1986 Wch U16 Girls B53 Sicilian 12. I Majul vs J Polgar 0-1 64 1986 Wch U16 Girls A37 English, Symmetrical 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. J Polgar vs A Huss 0-1 52 1987 Biel Mix C15 French, Winawer 23. J Costa vs J Polgar 0-1 22 1987 Biel Mix A31 English, Symmetrical, Benoni Formation 24. C Landenbergue vs J Polgar   0-1 44 1987 Biel Mix A04 Reti Opening 25. J Polgar vs J Costa 1-0 32 1987 Biel Mix C33 King's Gambit Accepted  page 1 of 73; games 1-25 of 1,809

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 57 OF 77 ·  Later Kibitzing> Sep-04-11    achk: HSOL was faster :P Sep-04-11    HeMateMe: Ah, final 8. Thank you both. With so many heavies not playing, she has real chance to win this year, and I think, get an auto seed into the next Candidates matches. Sep-04-11    Blunderdome: <Except that those people are all fully active, while she's semi-retired.> Since the January 2011 rating list was published, she has 24 rated games. That's more than Anand, Topalov, or Gelfand, and probably some others as well. Sep-04-11    alexmagnus: To get to the Candidates she has to "only" reach the semifinal and, in case of a loss there, win the 3rd place match. Sep-04-11    alexmagnus: But I wouldn't agree with <With so many heavies not playing, she has real chance to win this year>. Polgar is 33rd seed in this tournament. Only one KO event was won by a player seeded below 32 - in 1999, when the winner Khalifman was seeded 36th. Sep-04-11    alexmagnus: Seedings of the semisinalifts of KO events: 1999: Winner 36 Losing finalist 31 Losing semifinalists 5 and 46 2000: Winner 1 Losing finalist 4 Losing semifinalists 3 and 46 2002: Winner 19 Losing finalist 4 Losing semifinalists 1 and 15 2004: Winner 27 Losing finalist 3 Losing semifinalists 1 and 18 2005: Winner 3 Losing finalist 9 Losing semifinalists 2 and 4 2007: Winner 11 Losing finalist 5 Losing semifinalists 10 and 17 2009: Winner 1 Losing finalist 7 Losing semifinalists 12 and 22. Sep-04-11    alexmagnus: <semisinalifts> semifinalists even :D Sep-04-11    twinlark: <Polgar's peers are Anand, Gelfand, Ivanchuk, Topalov, Kramnik. Gender is irrelevant. > That'd be nice if there was more than one woman in the top 200, but that very rarity makes her stand out. Of course it is a man's world, and it's a serious blight on chess that the game generally is so seriously hostile to women playing. Have you read the <Grandmaster Experiment> that's linked in the bio? It sheds some extra light on this touchy subject. Sep-04-11    Petrosianic: <and it's a serious blight on chess that the game generally is so seriously hostile to women playing.> Pretty much the opposite is true. Almost every chess club I've belonged to has had free membership for women, even ones who have been playing for years, and no longer need to be attracted to the game. They go out of their way to recruit women, but women tend to be more interested in social games, like Bridge. A typical Bridge club is nearly 50/50 men and women. Sep-04-11    HeMateMe: It might be that you can't talk much at a chess club, which discourgages women from...you know, there's no way you can approach this topic without appearing sexist or ignorant, it's just a no win subject. I'm glad we have Judit, wish there were twenty more female players just as good. I still remember looking at video of a blitz tournament, I think it was the Moscow blitz two years ago, when Kosteniuk was womens world champion. The game is Polgar v. Kosteniuk. As Polgar approaches the table, with a sort of predatory grin on her face, AK has this very nervous look (the REAL womens champ has arrived) and doesn't make any eye contact. It's a subtle thing you wouldn't notice, unless you are really looking for it. Sep-04-11    Maatalkko: BAM! ... next round. Hah <Beholder>, what did I say? <Aug-29-11 Maatalkko: I bet Judit will beat Movsesian, and I'm even going to go out on a limb and predict a victory against Karjakin. She was very sharp at the Euro Championships and against Jimenez.> Bring on the next round, Lysyj or Dominguez, either way I think the Judit train still has a ways to go. Sep-04-11    twinlark: <Petrosianac> <free membership for women> It's a sort of band-aid remedy to a much more serious problem, mainly cultural, I suspect where most women's upbringing generally works contrary to the ethos required for consistent and top flight chess. Thankfully, this is changing. Incidentally, it could be argued that chess discriminates in favour of women, not only because of free membership as you cited (and I don't think that's a systemic issue), but also because there are women-only events which of course excludes men. Moreover women have access to <eight> titles, while us poor under-privileged males have only four to which we can aspire...tragic hey? Not having a life, I did a study of the FIDE public database and the thing that struck me is how small the player pool of women is, and the thing that struck me statistically was that while there are just as many women with titles as men, comparatively, it's because most of these titles are WFMs. Women are under-represented not only numerically, but also percentage wise, amongst the IM and GM community. Sep-04-11    Amulet: <HeMateMe: Moscow blitz, Polgar v. Kosteniuk> Is this the game? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJU... Sep-04-11    Petrosianic: <It's a sort of band-aid remedy to a much more serious problem, mainly cultural, I suspect where most women's upbringing generally works contrary to the ethos required for consistent and top flight chess.> Maybe, but the game of chess can't be blamed for women's upbringing. So, that wouldn't constitute the game itself being hostile, would it? Sep-04-11    Thanh Phan: <twinlark> <HeMateMe> Think part of, mainly cultural also upbringing are much of the problem. Time are now the kids gain time learning and playing chess. That might help more. About talks at chess clubs, yes it can become awkward, more of from both sides appear shy or unsure how to react around each other. After a few whiles are more relax, most after games and replay what happen in-game. Sep-04-11    twinlark: <Petrosianac> Maybe hostile is the wrong word, but chess has very much been a boy's club, catering to <their> upbringing, which is <very> different to the way women are acculturated. Even as recently as 1988, FIDE wouldn't allow women to play in the men's teams, and on and on including Fischer claiming he could cite Knight odds to any woman and Kasparov saying "...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.". As an incidental contrast, that most detested of World champions, Alexander Alekhine, actually married a chess playing woman and was his most steady companion in life and his only durable marriage. Between the time I started chess in 1968, and quite it temporarily in 1980, women were extremely rare in chess clubs. It's changing, but there's a few centuries of inertia and momentum to overcome. Sep-04-11    twinlark: <Than Phan> Thanks for your insight. The internet has no doubt sped up the loosening of cultural restrictions and constraints of women playing chess, as it can be played from the safety of the PC, and then women may probably feel freer about going to the local chess club. And even backward countries like Australia (chessically speaking) teach chess in most schools without discrimination as such. Also, Susan Polgar's chess school for girls in New York has contributed as well, in the USA anyway. But how long will it be before there are ten women in the top 100 (instead of the 1 in 200 we now have), let alone anywhere near equal representation? It certainly won't be happening under the current leadership of FIDE, and most likely and unfortunately not in our lifetimes. Which is a real pity, as chess really should be able to provide the level playing field for mixed gender competition. The article <The Grandmaster Experiment> that's linked in the bio makes an effort to find out why there is such a gender difference and what separates patzers from GMs. It's a very interesting article, as some of it was based on spending about a year with the Polgars. Sep-04-11    HeMateMe: I just can't buy the upbringing thing, in this day and age. Every couple I know, kids or no kids, both parents work full time. Every guy would love to have a wife who makes as much money (demanding, highly skilled job) as he does. I just can't see a stigma against women. I attended a huge school in the midwest, with a total grad + undergrad enrollment of 55,000 students. MY classes were full of women, at least 50%. I just don't think women are discouraged these days from delving into college, technical professions, or other high stress vocations, including chess. That may be different in other places; I'm just referring to the USA. I really think that girls just don't like a game that requires you to sit patiently, not talk, and not relate to your opponent. We really are built differently, and more men than women find chess to be a fun game. Sep-04-11    HeMateMe: <Amulet> Yes, thats the game. Thanks for posting. Man, AK looks HOT in that red bouse...OOPS, this is the Judit page, mea culpa... Sep-05-11    twinlark: <We really are built differently> Since you're not talking about physical build, clearly you're talking about mental/social "build", right? Well, that's precisely the point. It's not that the innate or inborn architecture or anatomy is structured to favour boys playing chess and women not, it's that the acculturation process, the way we're wired or "built" mentally and socially, is what makes the difference. Laszlo Polgar set out to prove that genius is acquired not innate, and his success with his three daughters may not prove his case, but it certainly supports it. I suggest you read the <Grandmaster Experiment> - it's an <interesting and informative> article - if you want to continue this thread, so that we're on the same page both literally and metaphorically. Sep-05-11    kingscrusher: I am so happy for Judit to knock out the top seed in the World cup! Sep-05-11    alexmagnus: < Laszlo Polgar set out to prove that genius is acquired not innate, and his success with his three daughters may not prove his case, but it certainly supports it.> Does it? After all, the three sisters were taught exactly the same program yet reached a completely different level. The only claim the Polgar experiment supports is that everyone can reach 2400 with enough training :D Sep-05-11    HeMateMe: genetics + hardwork + personal desire, a real enjoyment of the process of reaching the goal. Sep-05-11    twinlark: <alexmagnus> With due respect, there are so many things wrong with that. <HeMateMe: genetics + hardwork + personal desire, a real enjoyment of the process of reaching the goal.> I think they found that all things being equal, genetics is fairly irrelevant except in cases of specialised physical sports like high jumping. Also, the main thesis that Laszlo Polgar worked on, that seemed to be confirmed by the study, was the intense focus and concentration on a field of activity from an early age. Sep-05-11    alexmagnus: <With due respect, there are so many things wrong with that.> What exactly is wrong? They ended up on a different level - around 2400, around 2500 and around 2700 respectively. Two of three didn't come higher than a "usual" female top player (Zsofia not even there... Honsetly, who would ever mention Zsofia Polgar if not for her sisters? Maybe only in connection with that one tournament in Rome...). 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