Judit Polgár

Judit Polgár (23 de julio de 1976 - ) es una ajedrecista húngara.

Considerada la mejor jugadora de ajedrez de la historia, posee el título de Gran Maestro Internacional. En octubre del 2008 era número 27 del mundo según la lista de la FIDE (que incluye hombres y mujeres) con una puntuación Elo de 2711. Es la única mujer entre los 100 mejores de la lista de la FIDE [1] y la única que consiguió estar en el top 10 de la lista (lo logró en la lista de enero de 1996).

Judit aprendió a jugar ajedrez gracias a su padre, László Polgár, quien organizó para sus hijas un programa educativo en donde el ajedrez se encontraba presente en un lugar preferencial. La hermana mayor, Zsuzsa Polgár, también es GM y la segunda, Sofia, es MI. El padre insistió en que las hijas no participaran en torneos femeninos, sino sólo en los absolutos.

Polgar obtuvo el título de gran maestro a los 15 años, convirtiéndose en su tiempo en la persona más joven en obtenerlo. Consiguió la victoria en el Campeonato de Hungría de 1991, también triunfos en los torneos de Hastings (1992-1993) y en Madrid (1994), derrotando a jugadores como Gata Kamsky, Shírov o Valeri Sálov. También se alzó con el triunfo en el torneo de Stornoway, en el año de 1995.

Contrajo matrimonio en el año 2000 con el veterinario Gustav Font, e hizo dos altos en su carrera, en agosto del 2004 para tener a su hijo Ólivier, y en junio del 2006, para tener a Hanna.

Curiosidades

-En 1998 consiguió la medalla de oro en la Olimpiada de Ajedrez de Salónica (Grecia).

-En 1990 quedó tercera en Nueva Delhi (detrás de Anand y Kamsky). Campeona del mundo infantil en -Winsconsin (EE.UU.). Medalla de oro en la Olimpiada de Novi Sad (Yugoslavia).

-En 1991 fue Campeona Absoluta de Hungría. Se convierte en el Maestro más joven de la historia.

-En 1992 quedó segunda en Madrid y en Nueva York.

-En 1993 quedó primera en Hastings (Inglaterra). Segunda en Dos Hermanas (España). Vence en un duelo al ex campeón del mundo Borís Spassky por 4,5-3,5.

-En 1994 logra el mejor resultado de una mujer en la historia del ajedrez al ganar el Torneo Comunidad de Madrid, terminando invicta. Además, cuarta en el Melody Amber de Mónaco (rápidas). Se consolida entre los 15 mejores del mundo.

-En 1995 quedó tercera en el Memorial Donner de Ámsterdam; cuarta en Dos Hermanas; cuarta en Madrid; cuarta en Mónaco (rápidas).

-En 1996 quedó primera con Topálov, en León; quinta en Dortmund.

-En 1997 quedó quinta en Linares, el mejor resultado de su carrera junto al triunfo en Madrid-94

-En 1998 ganó el Open de EEUU.

-En 1999 gana el torneo de Hoogeveen (Holanda, Categoría XIV) por delante de Timman y de Spassky. Este torneo lo ganará más veces y con categorías mayores. Alcanza los cuartos de final en el torneo por el campeonato de Las Vegas; cae ante Jálifman, que a la postre sería el campeón del mundo.

- En 2000 tuvo una actuación memorable en el torneo de Wijk aan Zee (Holanda, Categoría XVIII). Gana el torneo del Festival ajedrez Japfa (Yakarta, Indonesia. Categoría XVI), su victoria más importante hasta el momento. En el torneo de Mérida (Categoría XVII) Judit acaba a solamente medio punto detrás del ganador. Gana el Festival de Ajedrez Miguel Najdorf (Categoría XVI). Participa en la 34 Olimpíada de ajedrez, en Estambul (Turquía) como tercer tablero y Judit obtiene 10,5 puntos de 13.

Judit Polgár

The native form of this personal name is Polgár Judit.

Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, she achieved the title of Grandmaster (GM) at the age of 15 years and 4 months. She was, at that time, the youngest person ever to do so. Polgár is ranked number 53 in the world on the January 2011 FIDE rating list with an Elo rating of 2686, the only woman on FIDE's Top 100 Players list, and has been ranked as high as eighth (in 2005). She has won or shared first in the chess tournaments of Hastings 1993, Madrid 1994, Leon 1996, US Open 1998, Hoogeveen 1999, Siegman 1999, Japfa 2000, and the Najdorf Memorial 2000.[1]

The educational experiment

Judit 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.[2] "Geniuses are made, not born," was László's thesis. He and his wife Klara educated their three daughters at home, with chess as the specialist subject. Traditionally, chess has been a male-dominated activity and women are often seen as weaker players; thus, the existence of a Women's World Champion.[3]

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."[4]

However, chess was not taught to the exclusion of everything else. Each of the sisters has several diplomas and speaks four to eight languages. Their father 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. However, by most reports the girls appeared happy and well-adjusted. Currently, as of 2010, all three have earned good incomes from chess and are married with families of their own.[5]

Career

Judit Polgár has rarely played in women's 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," she said.[6] While Laszlo Polgar has been credited with being an excellent chess coach,[7] the Polgars had also employed professional chessplayers to train their daughters, including Russian GM Alexander Chernin.[8] 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.[9] One evening Susan, the eldest of the Polgar sisters, 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.[2] Laszlo Polgar's experiment would produce a family of one international master and two grandmasters and would strengthen the argument for nurture over nature, but also prove women could be grandmasters of chess.[10]

Prodigy

Trained in her early years by her sister Susan, who ultimately became Women's World Champion, Judit Polgár was a prodigy from an early age. At age five 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?"[11] However, according to Susan, Judit was not the sister with the most talent, explaining "Judit was a slow starter, but very hard-working."[12] She first defeated an International Master, Dolfi Drimer, at age 10,[13] and a Grandmaster, Vladimir Kovacevic, at age 11.[14]

Judit started playing in tournaments at six years old and by age nine her rating with the Hungarian Chess Federation was 2080. She was a member of the chess club in Budapest where she would get experience from master level players.[15] In 1984 in Budapest, Sophia and Judit, at the time nine and seven 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.[16]

In April 1986, nine-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 $1,000.[17] All three Polgar sisters competed. Susan, 16-years-old, competed in the grandmaster section and had a victory against GM Walter Browne and Sophia, 11-years-old, finished second in her section, but it was Judit who gathered most of the attention in the tournament. Grandmasters would drop by to watch the serious, quiet child playing.[15] 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."[18] Not able to speak English, her mother translated 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."[15]

In late 1986, ten-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 against Judit. "I was careful in that game," he said. "Grandmasters don't like to lose to 10-year-old girls, because then we make the front page of all the papers."[19]

In 1988, Judit Polgar won the under-12 "Boys" section of the World Youth Chess and Peace Festival in Timişoara, Romania.[20] In October 1988, Polgar finished first in a 10-player round-robin tournament in London, scoring 7–2, for a half point lead over Israeli GM Yair Kraidman.[21] She and her sisters along with Ildikó Mádl, represented Hungary in the Women's section of the 1988 Chess Olympiad. The International Chess Federation would not permit the Polgars to play against men in team competitions.[22] Hungary won the championship which was 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.[23] She also won the brilliancy prize for her game against Pavlina Angelova.[24] In 1988, she made her first International Norm in the International B section of the New York Open[25] and by November 1988 she was awarded the International Master title, at the time the youngest ever to have achieved the distinction.[26] Both Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov were 14 when they were awarded the title. Polgar was 12.[27]

Judit with sister Sofia at Thessaloniki 1988

Judit was asked about playing against boys instead of the girls' section of tournmanents. "These other girls are not serious about chess," she said. "I practice five or six hours a day. But they get distracted by cooking and work around the house."[27] By age 12, she was rated 2555, which was 35 rating points ahead of the Women's World Champion Maia Chiburdanidze.[28] Judit's quiet and modest demeanour at the board[29] 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."[30] 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."[31]

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.[11] British GM Nigel Short called Judit, "one of the three or four greatest chess prodigies in history." However, not everyone was as enthusiastic and male chauvinism still existed. "She has fantastic chess talent," said Kasparov. "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."[32]

In 1989, Polgar tied with Boris Gelfand for third in the OHRA Open in Amsterdam.[33]

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.[16]

In 1990, Judit Polgar won the Boys section of the under-14 in the World Youth Chess Festival in Fond-du-Lac, Wisconsin.[34]

In October 1991, Judit Polgar finished with 5½–3½ points, tied for third to fifth position with Zoltán Ribli and John Nunn at a tournament in Vienna.[35][36]

Grandmaster

In December 1991, Polgar qualified as a Grandmaster 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.[29][37] Hungary, one of the strongest chess-playing countries, had all but one of the best players participate in that year's championship. 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 win first place with 6 points in 9 games.[38]

In 1992, she tied for second behind Anatoly Karpov at the Madrid International in Linares. She and Russian GM Vladimir Epishin finished with 5½–3½.[39] In July 1992, she placed second in the Reshevsky Memorial in Manhattan finishing with 4 wins, 5 draws and no losses.[40] In September 1992, Judit 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, Maia Chiburdanidze, Ketevan Arakhamia and Alisa Galliamova. The Men won the tournament 39–33. The overall high scorer was Polugaevsky, 57 years old with Judit Polgar, 16, finishing second with 7½–4½.[41]

Polgar then tied for first in the Hastings tournament held over New Years, 1992–93. Russian GM Evgeny Bareev, at the time ranked eighth in the world, led going into tournament's last round, but was crushed by Polgar in their individual game allowing her to share first.[42] Immediately following the Hastings tournament, Polgar played an exhibition match in February against former World Champion, Boris Spassky. She won the match 5½–4½ and won the largest prize money to that point in her career of $110,000.[43] 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 6½ points from 11 rounds ahead other strong GMs such as Ivanchuk, Short, Korchnoi and her sister Susan.[44][45]

In 1993, Judit Polgar became the first woman to ever qualify for a Men's Interzonal tournament. In March, she finished in a four-way tie for second place in the Budapest Zonal and then won the tiebreaking tournament.[46][47][48] 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.[49][50]

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, and for tax evasion. 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".[51] 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 Judit was arranged and announced to the press. However, problems ensued between

Fischer and Laszlo Polgar and Fischer cancelled the match, saying to a friend on whether the match would take place, "No, they're Jewish."[51][52][53]

In the summer of 1994, Polgar had the greatest success of her career to that point, when she won the Madrid International in Spain. Running away with the tournament, against a field which included Gata Kamsky, Evgeny Bareev, Valery Salov and Ivan Sokolov, she finished 7–2 and 1½ points ahead of the field.[54][55] Her performance rating for the tournament was 2778 against an opposition rated at 2672.[56]

In October 1994, she played in a strong tournament in Buenos Aires which was a tribute to an ailing Lev Polugaevsky. Eight grandmasters, all considered contenders for the world championship: Karpov, Anand, Salov, Ivanchuk, Kamsky, Shirov, Ljubojevic and Polgar. The tournament was unusual as each game was required to play a Sicilian Defence, since Polugaevsky was considered the all-time authority on the opening.[57] This was to Polgar's advantage as it was her favourite. Against the elite competition she finished tied for third with Ivanchuk.[58][59]

In September 1995, Polgar finished third in a tournament in the Donner Memorial in Amsterdam, behind Jan Timman and Julio Granda Zuniga who tied for first. Scoring 7–4, finishing ahead of Yasser Seirawan, Alexander Khuzman, Alexey Shirov, Alexander Khalifman, Alexander Morozevich and Valery Salov.[60] She secured a clear third place with a 21-move win over Shirov in her last game.[61][62] In the Antillean island of Aruba in November 1995, she played in a friendly match against 26 year old, 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.[63]

In 1995, the Isle of Lewis chess club in Scotland attempted to arrange a game between Judit 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.[64] 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 5 points in the 6 games and winning both her games against Short.[65][66]

Kasparov touch-move controversy

At Linares, in 1994, she suffered a controversial defeat at the hands of then-world champion Garry Kasparov, the highest-rated chessplayer of all time. 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 2 points, which was a fair result considering she was rated third from last in the very strong tournament.[67] In the fifth game against Kasparov, the World Champion changed his mind after making a losing move and then made another move instead.[68][69] According to chess rules, once a player has released a piece they cannot make a different move, so Kasparov should have been made to play his original move. However, Polgár did not challenge this because she says there were no witnesses and an arbiter was not around. She was also unaware at the time that the re-move was caught on tape by a television crew. The video tape showed Kasparov's fingers were free of the knight for six frames, which at 24 frames per second means

Kasparov had released the piece for ¼ of a second. The tournament director was criticised for not forfeiting Kasparov when the videotape evidence was made available to him.[70][71] At one point, Polgar reportedly confronted Kasparov in the hotel bar, saying to him, "How could you do this to me?"[72] Kasparov told reporters that his conscience was clear as he was not aware of his hand leaving the piece.[73] Although Polgar recovered by the end of the tournament, she went into a slump over the next six rounds gaining only a half point.[67] James Eade in Chess for Dummies commenting on the game wrote, "If even world champions break the rules, what hope do the rest of us have?"[74]

Strongest ever

Judit Polgár is by far the strongest female chessplayer of all time.[75][76][77][78][79][80][81][7][82]

[83][84][85]

The January 1996 FIDE ratings list was a landmark as Polgár's 2675 rating made her the number 10 ranked player in the world, the only woman ever to enter the world's Top Ten.[86][87]

In August 1996, Polgar 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 Peter Leko.[88][89] In December 1996, Polgar 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. Polgar won two, drew one and lost one and won $12,000 in prize money.[90]

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.[91][92] 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.[93] 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.[94]

[95] In June 1997, she finished with an even score, 4½–4½, in the Madrid 10-player GM tournament won by Topalov.[96] 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.[97] 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.[98] In October 1997, she tied for second in a double-round robin tournament of four grand masters in the VAM International Tournament in Hoogeveen, the Netherlands.[99]

"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 Aug.26, 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."[97]

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. Polgar handed co-winner Vishwanathan Anand his only loss of the tournament.[100][101] 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.[102] In August 1998, Judit Polgar became the first woman to ever win the U.S. Open 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.[103] In October 1998, Polgar won the VAM four-grandmaster tournament in Hoogeveen, Netherlands by 1½ points over Jan Timman.[104][105] In November 1998, Polgar 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 Polgar.[106]

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.[104]

In October 1999, Polgar participated in the four-player GM section of the VAM Chess tournament in Hoogeveen, Netherlands. Jan Timman lead 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 last.[107]

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.[108] Judit 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 her first 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.[109] However, in the European Teams Championship in Batumi, Georgia, also in January, she won the gold medal playing Board 2, scoring 6½–2½.[110]

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 in which included Alexander Khalifman–at the time FIDE world champion– and Anatoly Karpov–his predecessor.[111] Going into the last round four players, Polgar, Khalifman, Karpov and Gilberto Milos were tied, but Polgar won her game over Braziliam GM Milos while Khalifman and Karpov played against each other in a draw. Polgar finished clear first with 6½–2½, winning the $20,000 first place prize money.[112]

[113][114] At the end of May, she won the Sigeman & Company International Tournament in Malmo, 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.[115] In June 2000, she played in the GM Tournament Mérida, State of Yucatán, finishing in second place a half point behind Alexei Shirov.[116] In September 2000, she shared first place in the Najdorf Chess Festival with Viktor Bologan, ahead of Nigel Short and Anatoly Karpov.[116] 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, Judit Polgar finished 10/13 for the second highest points total of any player in the Olympiad[117] and a rated performance level of 2772.[118]

In late February and early March 2001, Polgar played in the elite Linares double-round 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, Polgar, Karpov, Shirov, Grischuk and Leko all finished with 4½ 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.[119][120][121][122] In March 2001, she reached the semi-finals 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 semi-final 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.[123] 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.[124] In October 2001, she tied for first with GM Loek van Wely in the Essent Tourney in Hoogeveen, the Netherlands.[125]

Making history

In September 2002, in the Russia versus the Rest of the World Match, Judit 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 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.[126] The game helped the World team win the match 52–48.[127] Upon resigning, Kasparov immediately left by a passageway barred to journalists and photographers. Kasparov had once described Judit 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 my career."[72] Polgar thus became one of the few players who have beaten Kasparov. The game was historic as not only the first time in chess history a female player beat the world's #1 player in competitive play,[128] it was the first time in any sport that the No.1 ranked male player has lost to the No.1 ranked female player.[129]

In October and November 2002, Polgar alternated with Peter Leko between first and second board for Hungary in the 35th Chess Olympiad. While not having the stunning performance as she had in the 2000 Olympiad, she was considered key to Hungary's silver medal as the veteran of the team and provided fighting spirit. While the Hungarians had the best won-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. Always the crowd pleaser, Polgar roused the hall in her fourth round game against Azerbaijan's Shakhriyar Mamedyarov with a brilliant 12.Nxf7 drawing his king into the center of the board.[130][131]

By early 2003, Polgar had worked her way back into the top 10 rated players in the world.[132][133] In 2003, Polgár scored one of her best results: an undefeated clear second place in the Category 19 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.[134] 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.[135][136]

[137] In June 2003, Polgar 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.[138] 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.[139][140] 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, ancient sacrifice first employed by Emanuel Lasker against Bauer in 1889.[141][142][143][144]

Combining family and chess

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 number one ranked women's player again.[145]

Polgár returned to chess at the prestigious Corus chess tournament on January 15, 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.[146] 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.[147] 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.[148][149]

In September 2005, Polgár once again made history as she became the first woman to play for a World Championship, at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. However, she had a rare disappointing performance, coming last out of the eight competitors. Polgar "was unrecognizable in her first-round encounter with Viswanathan Anand," wrote GM Robert Byrne in his New York Times column, "making more errors than she normally would in a dozen games."[150] However, in her game against Veselin Topalov, Polgar pushed the eventual tournament winner and world champion to a seven hour marathon before succumbing.[151]

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

Polgar participitated in the FIDE world blitz championship September 5–7, 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.[152][153] Judit tied with Boris Gelfand with 9½ points and won her individual game against Viswanathan Anand, at the time the world's #2 player.[154] In October 2006, Polgár scored another excellent result: tied for first place in the Essent Chess Tournament, Hoogeveen, Holland.[155] 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, Polgar 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 Polgar's one.[156] Nearly 1,000 spectators attended the event.[157]

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 unprepared for the tournament and appeared affected by the fact that she'd played less chess in the last three years to concentrate on her two children. However, she was still credited with the most beautiful attack of the tournament in her fifth game victory.[158] 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.[159][160] 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.[161][162] 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.[163][164][165] 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, Congo. Polgar finished tied for third in the strong six-player tournament and handed tournament winner Veselin Topalov his only loss.[166][167]

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.[168] 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 2½ points.[169] 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, Polgar participated in the FIDE World Cup at Khanty Mansisyk 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.[170]

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 wining two games.[171][172] In April 2010, Polgar 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 being younger, 25 to Polgar's 33 years, and higher rated, 2708 to Polgar's 2682, Navara was crushed by Polgar who won the match 6-2.[173] Polgar participated in the rapid chess tournament of the Presidential Chess Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan from April 29 to May 1, 2010. She finished with one win, two losses and four draws, tied for fifth–sixth 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.[174] In June 2010, it was reported Polgar is assisting GM Zoltán Almási in training for the Olympiad.[175]

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.[176] Highlight for the Hungarian Men's team was a 5th round victory over Russia I.[177] 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, 3½-½ to win the tournament.[178]

[179][180]

Playing style

While having a solid understanding of positional play, Judit Polgár excels in tactics and is known for an aggressive playing style, striving to maximize the initiative and actively pursuing complications.[181] 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."[182] In her youth, she was especially popular with the fans due to her willingness to employ wild gambits and attacks.[183] As a teenager, Polgar has been credited with contributing to the popularity of the opening variation King's Bishop's Gambit.[184] Polgar prefers aggressive openings like the Sicilian, but she has also said her opening choices will also depend upon her trainer.[181][185] Jennifer Shahade, writer and two-time American women's chess champion, gave as one of the reasons women play more aggressive chess than men may be due to the influence of Polgar as a role model.[186] Describing an individual encounter with Polgár, former US 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."[187]

Judit 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 rather than playing "objective" chess.[188] In her 2002 victory over Kasparov, she deliberately chose a line Kasparov 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.[126] 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."[189]

Chess professional

Polgar has said she does not have a permanent coach although she does have help from GM Lev Psakhis or GM Mihail Marin.[9][190] 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.[191]

"You have to be very selfish sometimes," said Polgar in speaking of the life of professional chessplayer. "If you are in a tournament, you have to think of yourself—–you can't think of your wife or children—only about yourself."[123] 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."[30]

Concentrating on her two children left Polgar with little time to train and play competitively and her rating dropped from eighth in 2005 to the mid-50s in 2009. 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.[192] Comparing motherhood to playing chess, Polgar has said that a chess tournament now "feels like a vacation"[9] 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!"[190]

Personal life

Judith Polgár was born July 23, 1976 to Klara and Laszlo Polgár. Polgár is Jewish, and from Budapest. She has two older sisters, Susan and Sofia. Members of her family perished in the Holocaust, and her grandmother was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp.[193] In August 2000, she married Hungarian veterinary surgeon Gusztáv Font.[194][123] They have two children. While Judit remained in Hungary, the rest of her family eventually emigrated; Sofia and her parents to Israel and later to Canada and Susan to New York.[30]

[edit] Illustrative gamesPolgar–Viswanathan Anand, Dos Hermanas 1999

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.g4 e5 8.Nf5 g6 9.g5 gxf5 10.exf5 d5 11.Qf3 d4 12.0-0-0 Nbd7 13.Bd2 dxc3 14.Bxc3 Bg7 15.Rg1 0-0 16.gxf6 Qxf6 17.Qe3 Kh8 18.f4 Qb6 19.Qg3 Qh6 20.Rd6 f6 21.Bd2 e4 22.Bc4 b5 23.Be6 Ra7 24.Rc6 a5 25.Be3 Rb7 26.Bd5 Rb8 27.Rc7 b4 28.b3 Rb5 29.Bc6 Rxf5 30.Rxc8 Rxc8 31.Bxd7 Rcc5 32.Bxf5 Rxf5 33.Rd1 Kg8 34.Qg2 Kf8 1-0[195][196]

Polgar–Ferenc Berkes, Budapest 2003

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.O-O-O Be7 10.Bd3 b6 11.Neg5 h6 12.Bh7+ Kh8 13.Be4 hxg5 14.g4 Rb8 15.h4 g6 16.hxg5+ Kg7 17.Qf4 Bb7 18.Rh7+ Kxh7 19.Qh2+ Kg8 20.Rh1 Bxg5+ 21.Nxg5 Qxg5+ 22.f4 Qxf4+ 23.Qxf4 Bxe4 24.Qxe4 1-0[197]

Polgar–Garry Kasparov, Russia vs. The Rest of the World match, Moscow 2002

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 h6 10.Rd1+ Ke8 11.h3 Be7 12.Ne2 Nh4 13.Nxh4 Bxh4 14.Be3 Bf5 15.Nd4 Bh7 16.g4 Be7 17.Kg2 h5 18.Nf5 Bf8 19.Kf3 Bg6 20.Rd2 hxg4+ 21.hxg4 Rh3+ 22.Kg2 Rh7 23.Kg3 f6 24.Bf4 Bxf5 25.gxf5 fxe5 26.Re1 Bd6 27.Bxe5 Kd7 28. c4 c5 29.Bxd6 cxd6 30.Re6 Rah8 31.Rexd6+ Kc8 32.R2d5 Rh3+ 33.Kg2 Rh2+ 34.Kf3 R2h3+ 35.Ke4 b6 36.Rc6+ Kb8 37.Rd7 Rh2 38.Ke3 Rf8 39.Rcc7 Rxf5 40.Rb7+ Kc8 41.Rdc7+ Kd8 42.Rxg7 Kc8 1-0[198]

Judit PolgarChess Playground

Children learn best by playing.

Chess is a creative, entertaining and complex game, developing pattern recognition and logical thinking. It is also an ancient game, played for more than 2000 years . In this booklet you will find 250 fun and creative exercises, games,  engaging rhymes and playful drawings. Great for parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who wants to enjoy playing chess together with toddlers and beginners.  Start playing chess, and enjoy it for a lifetime!

“I started to play chess when I was 5 years old, and I have been playing ever since. It has been a great pleasure for me to work on this book together with my sister Sofia. I tried out each exercise with students and my own children, Hanna and Oliver. Now I'm happy to share them with children all over the world!”

Welcome to the Chess Playground!

Judit Polgar

Judit Polgár, rompiendo barreras

Judit Polgar nació el 23 de Julio de 1976 en Budapest (Hungría).

         Hija de Klara y Lazslo Polgar, personas muy peculiares que se negaron a que sus tres hijas acudiesen a la escuela. Prefirieron no dejar la educación de sus niñas en manos de profesores y ellos mismos se ocuparon de educarlas en su propia casa. Las 3 niñas sólo iban a la escuela una vez al año para hacer los preceptivos exámenes. Laszlo es maestro de profesión y con este método de educación creo una gran polémica, aunque parece claro que esta forma de educar tiene muchas características positivas. El ajedrez ocupaba un lugar preferente en la vida de las Polgar, desde niñas practicaban a diario y los resultados fueron excelentes. Esta manera de educar a través del ajedrez también fue utilizada por las familias de los jugadores húngaros Peter Leko y Ferenc Berkes.

         Judit y sus hermanas, Zsuzsa y Sofia, aprendieron a jugar al ajedrez en el calor de su hogar, de esto también se encargaron sus padres. Muchos jugadores profesionales pasaron por la casa de los Polgar para jugar con las 3 hermanas, era una forma de que éstas pudieran aprender y progresar. Lazslo Polgar ha publicado un libro con 5334 posiciones y 600 partidas que forman parte del material con el que enseñó a jugar a sus hijas.

         Judit comenzó a destacar muy pronto y ya con 8 años derrotaba a ajedrecistas veteranos, aunque lo que más llamaba la atención era su estilo, atrevido e imaginativo, algo impropio en una mente de tan corta edad. En sus primeros torneos Judit siempre iba acompañada por su madre y resultaba gracioso ver a una niña (que siempre jugaba con un peluche al lado del tablero) ganando a jugadores experimentados y curtidos en mil batallas.

 

         La aparición de Judit en el concierto internacional se produjo en el año 1987, donde consiguió ganar el Campeonato del Mundo sub-14 (con 11 años de edad). En esta época ya tenía un Elo de 2355 y entrenaba siempre con su hermana Sofia, lo que le permitía progresar con firmeza.

         Desde un principio, Laszlo decidió que sus hijas no jugaran competiciones exclusivas para mujeres, era consciente de que los torneos femeninos facilitan que el abismo entre el hombre y la mujer crezca, impidiendo que el nivel de juego de la mujeres pueda evolucionar. A pesar de esta norma las tres hermanas se vieron obligadas a jugar en varias Olimpiadas femeninas representando a Hungría (por presiones del gobierno del país). Esto ocurrió en 1988, en la Olimpiada de Tsalónica donde Hungría consiguió la medalla de oro con una excepcional actuación de Judit (12'5 ptos de 13), y donde Zsuzsa y Sofia también jugaron a gran nivel (10'5 de 14 y 4'5 de 7 respectivamente). La situación volvió a repetirse en Novi Sad (1990), otra 

vez oro para Hungría y otra vez gracias al excepcional juego de las hermanas Polgar: Zsuzsa (11'5 de 14), Sofia (11'5 de 13) y Judit (10 de 13). 

          A pesar de estas apariciones en las olimpiadas femeninas, Judit no ha participado nunca en un torneo femenino, ni siquiera en el Campeonato del Mundo. Hay que recordar que Zsuzsa rompió esta tradición jugando el Campeonato del Mundo ante la china Xie Jun en el año 1996, donde logró arrebatar el trono a la campeona al vencer por 8'5-4'5 (una de las personas que ayudaron a Zsuzsa a prepararse fue su hermana Judit). Hay que recordar que la primera mujer en negarse a jugar torneos femeninos fue la inglesa Vera Menchik (1908-1944), hoy en día también la sueca Pia Cramling juega sólo torneos mixtos.

         En 1989 su Elo ya es de 2555 (superando la puntuación más alta alcanzada por una mujer, con sólo 13 años de edad) y su nombre empieza a ser conocido... y temido. Además, gracias a su juego agresivo y de ataque, también consigue ganarse el favor de los aficionados. Ese estilo, siempre buscando complicaciones en el tablero, es originario de su niñez y lo ha mantenido durante toda su carrera. De hecho siempre ha declarado que odia hacer tablas rápidas y es algo que trata de evitar siempre que le resulta posible.

         Como todo jugador de ataque, Judit no es una experta en aperturas. Esa es la fase del juego que menos le gusta y sólo se encuentra cómoda cuando llega el medio juego donde puede lanzarse al ataque. Aun así es una experta en las aperturas que practica (que son pocas). En sus comienzos jugaba el Gambito Bënko con negras y el Gambito de Rey con blancas. En la actualidad con las piezas negras es una especialista en la Siciliana y en la India Oriental, con blancas siempre juega 1.e4 (aunque alguna vez encontréis en sus partidas 1.d4, algo que hace cuando desea sorprender a su rival).

         En 1991 logra otro hito en su carrera: consigue el Campeonato de Hungría con sólo 15 años, por delante de la flor y nata del ajedrez húngaro (Adorjan, Sax, Farago, Portisch...).

 

         Ese mismo año escribe su nombre con letras de oro en la historia del ajedrez al convertirse en la ajedrecista más joven en conseguir el título de Gran Maestro (tanto masculino como femenino), lo logró con 15 años, 4 meses y 7 días. En este aspecto fue la sucesora de Bobby Fischer que lo había logrado en 1958. Más tarde sería superada por el francés Etienne Bacrot. Hoy en día esta cifra es superada por GM más precoces, pero la hazaña de Judit es más meritoria ya que en la actualidad los jugadores se apoyan en programas con lo que pueden progresar con más rapidez y lograr el título con más facilidad, sin olvidar que existe un gran número de torneos al año donde poder ir sumando punto tras punto.

         Tanto Judit como sus hermanas conocieron al legendario Bobby Fischer cuando el estadounidense estableció su residencia en Hungría en el año 1992. También entabló contacto con Peter Leko y con todos ellos jugó centenares de partidas, compartiendo sus conocimientos con unos jóvenes jugadores que representaban el futuro del ajedrez. Nadie puede du-

dar que esta experiencia supuso una influencia muy beneficiosa para los cuatro. Finalmente, Bobby Fischer abandonó Hungría debido a su creciente antisemitismo al estar totalmente en contra de ciertas decisiones tomadas por el gobierno israelí.

         En 1993 Judit hace su primer acercamiento al Campeonato del Mundo masculino, disputó el torneo Interzonal de Biel que servía para clasificarse para el Torneo de Candidatos. Su actuación fue discreta debido a un flojo inicio, acabo 18ª con 7'5 de 13, pero por delante de muchos buenos jugadores (en total jugaron 74 ajedrecistas). Con igual suerte disputó el Torneo de Candidatos de la PCA, finalizando 17ª con 6'5 de 11.

         A partir de ese año Judit se instala en la élite del ajedrez, empieza a tener grandes actuaciones en torneos importantes cosechando varios triunfos como Hastings o Madrid. Demuestra ser una gran competidora, con un espíritu de lucha inquebrantable, algo muy apreciado por los organizadores de torneos. Podéis ver su palmarés completo en el siguiente enlace (Ver Palmarés).

         En el año 1998 tuvo una agria polémica con la Federación de ajedrez de Hungría con motivo de su participación en las Olimpiadas. Los federativos decidieron dar el primer tablero a Zoltan Almasi y esto no gustó nada a Judit ni a Peter Leko, que decidieron no acudir a dicha competición.

         Al año siguiente volvió a intentar el asalto al campeonato del mundo, pero fue eliminada en cuartos de final por Alexandre Khalifman (que a la postre sería el ganador final). Judit consiguió eliminar a Peter Nielsen, Jordi Magem y Vadim Zvjaginsev.

         Su nivel de juego siguió ascendiendo imparable y a partir del año 2000 obtuvo el triundo en varios torneos (Sigeman, Japfa, Memorial Najdorf, Hoogeven, Essent, Benidorm...). Gracias a estos triunfos consigue superar los 2700 ptos Elo, llegando a ser la 8ª en el Ranking de la FIDE. Además es la única mujer que ha sido capaz de vencer al ya retirado Gary Kasparov. Por supuesto, ha batido todos los records posibles en el ajedrez femenino, ninguna otra jugadora ha logrado acercarse al nivel de juego de la húngara.

         En ese año 2000 ocurrió un hecho importante en su vida, esta vez es algo no relacionado con el ajedrez: su boda. Lo hizo cumpliendo algo que siempre había declarado: nunca se casaría con un ajedrecista, y así fue ya que su marido Gusztav Font es veterinario. A partir de aquí el juego de Judit mejora notablemente, la influencia de su marido, que le acompaña a todos los torneos, ha resultado muy beneficiosa para la campeona húngara. El año 2004 lo pasó totalmente en blanco porque decidió que había llegado la hora de ser madre.

Fuera del tablero también sobresale, no ha dejado que la fama le afecte y sigue teniendo la misma modestia que le acompañaba cuando jugaba con un peluche bajo el brazo. Jamás se desmarca con peticiones extrañas en los torneos y esto hace que conecte con los aficionados, que sienten verdadera simpatía por

ella. Yo puedo dar fe de ello, tuve la suerte de verla en el Torneo de Ciudad Real (2007). Allí se mostró amable con todo el mundo, siempre atendiendo con una sonrisa al aficionado que se acercaba a pedirle un autógrafo.

         He querido rendirle este pequeño homenaje por dos motivos. El primero, por ser una ajedrecista de estilo ofensivo: una intensa luz entre las tinieblas que reinan en la actualidad. El segundo, por su lucha en un mundo de hombres, tarea ardua y complicada llena de altas barreras que superar. Aun así Judit ha arrasado, cual ciclón, todos los obstáculos que han puesto en su camino, consiguiendo demostrar que no hay diferencia entre un hombre y una mujer jugando al ajedrez.

         Uno de sus últimos logros ha sido la invitación para jugar el Campeonato del mundo en San Luis (Argentina), un torneo con los 8 mejores jugadores del mundo.

         Este mismo año ha tenido otro hijo, en este caso una niña: Hanna. En su reaparición ha tenido una actuación excepcional en un torneo de Categoría 20: Essent 2006. Allí ha quedado primera (empatada con Mamedyarov) por delante de Veselin Topalov. Su juego ha sido brillante, y como siempre, con partidas rebosantes de ataques y contraataques. Podéis ver como transcurrió el torneo en: Essent 2006.

          Sus estadísticas en partidas oficiales son: 458 victorias, 281 derrotas y 442 tablas; con un promedio de 57'5% (el promedio se saca de sumar victorias y tablas, y dividirlo por las partidas totales).

          Para terminar, 5 partidas de ataque de la mejor jugadora de todos los tiempos:

 Judit Polgar - Szendrei,  Budapest  1984

Balogh - Judit Polgar,  Budapest  1984

Judit Polgar - Hansen,  Vejstrup  1989 

Kolev - Judit Polgar,  Budapest  1993 

Ruban - Judit Polgar,  Groningen  1993

Judit Polgár

Biografía

Judit Polgar es la mediana de tres hermanas, todas ellas dedicadas al ajedrez. Si bien las tres hermanas han conseguido grandes cosas en el ajedrez sólo Judit ha logrado superar la barrera de los 2700 puntos Elo, toda una hazaña para cualquiera. Su primer gran éxito lo tuvo a los 12 años al ganar el torneo de Hastings de 1988. Ganó el campeonato húngaro a los 15 años, algunos años más tarde ella batió a la estrella holandesa Jeroen Piket por 6 a 2.

Su carrera ajedrecística ha sido formidable. Ya en 1985 se hablaba en la prensa especializada de estas hermanas, gracias a partidas formidables frente a fuertes jugadores. En 1990 quedó tercera en Nueva Delhi (tras Viswanathan Anand y Gata Kamsky). Campeona del mundo infantil en Winsconsin (EE UU). Fue medalla de oro en la Olimpiada de Novi Sad (Yugoslavia). En 1991 causan sensación en el torneo de Pamplona. Poco después, en el campeonato de Hungría, Judit se convierte en GM. En 1992 quedó segunda en Madrid y en Nueva York. En 1993 quedó primera en Hastings (Reino Unido), segunda en Dos Hermanas (Sevilla), vence en un duelo al excampeón del

mundo Boris Spassky por 4,5 a 3,5. Gana el torneo de Madrid 1994, de categoría XV. Además, queda cuarta en el Melody Amber de Mónaco. En 1995 se enfrenta a Deep Blue, pero pierde 5 a 1,5. Ese año juega un encuentro con Jeroen Piket que gana por 6 a 2. En 1996 gana el torneo de León que tiene categoría XVII. Es la primera mujer del mundo que gana un torneo de estas características. Ese año hace de analista de su hermana Susan y la ayuda a ganar el campeonato del mundo femenino. En 1997 queda segunda en el torneo Grandes Maestros del Milenio de categoría XVIII, a medio punto de ganador. Ganó el Open de EE UU en 1998. En 1999 gana el torneo de Hoogeveen (Holanda, Categoría XIV) por delante de Jan Timman y de Boris Spassky. Este torneo lo ganará más veces y con categorías mayores. Alcanza los cuartos de final en el torneo por el campeonato de Las Vegas; cae ante Alexánder Jálifman, que a la postre sería el campeón del mundo. El año 2000 es frenético para Judit. Tiene una actuación memorable en el torneo de Wijk aan Zee (Holanda, Categoría XVIII). Gana el torneo del Festival ajedrez Japfa (Yakarta, Indonesia. Categoría XVI), su victoria más importante hasta el momento. En el torneo de Mérida (Categoría XVII) Judit acaba a solamente medio punto detrás del ganador. Gana el Festival de Ajedrez Miguel Najdorf (Categoría XVI). Participa en la 34 Olimpíada de ajedrez, en Estambul (Turquía) como tercer tablero y Judit obtiene 10,5 puntos de 13.

El juego de Judit se caracteriza por la agudeza táctica, combinada son una buena preparación posicional. Es en las posiciones de ataque donde Judit se desenvuelve mejor. Si en el comienzo de su carrera fallaba en los finales hoy en día es una gran finalista y eso le ha permitido llegar a cotas tan altas. Su repertorio de aperturas es muy agudo. Ha conseguido victorias brillantes, como la celada que le preparó a Anand, y que le ganó en 35 movimientos. Una de sus armas favoritas con negras es la Defensa siciliana.

Judit es una mujer simpática y muy poco diva, aunque de cuando en cuando protagoniza alguna anécdota de este tipo. Si en su infancia se hizo famosa, a parte de por su juego, por sentarse ante el tablero acompañada de su peluche, lo que demuestra que tuvo una infancia a pesar de estar jugando con la élite del ajedrez, hoy hay que destacar su amabilidad. Judit tuvo que sufrir una de las anécdotas más desagradables y polémicas de la historia del ajedrez, protagonizada, como no, por Garry Kaspárov. En Linares 1994 Kaspárov hizo una jugada perdedora sobre el tablero. Inmediatamente se da cuenta y rectifica. Mueve 36. ..., Cd7-c5, y rectifica a 36. ..., Cf8. Todo indica que Kaspárov soltó la pieza, aunque fuesen unas décimas de segundo, y no tenía derecho a rectificar, pero era Kaspárov y se consintió la rectificación. Judit no se atrevió a reclamar, aunque su fotografiado gesto de súplica ante el árbitro es evidente. Nadie se atrevió a contradecir Kaspárov, que además se enfadó mucho cuando las imágenes de vídeo mostraron la verdad. Pero cosas como esta no han desanimado, precisamente, a una luchadora como Judit.

“Los genios se hacen, no nacen”. László Polgár , pedagogo, profesor de ajedrez húngaro y experto en teoría del ajedrez, con una biblioteca de más de 10.000 libros sobre esta ciencia, estuvo siempre obsesionado con los genios, se pasó la mayor parte de su vida estudiándolos hasta que llegó a una conclusión fascinante tras estudiar la biografía de cientos de intelectuales. Todos tenían algo en común, la especialización en ajedrez a una muy temprana edad. László opinaba que el sistema escolar público sólo servía para producir mentes mediocres y creía que podría convertir cualquier niño sano en genio. Para poder llevar a cabo su experimento se realizó una boda concertada con una pedagoga, con la que había mantenido discusiones epistolares sobre el tema. Sus hijas serían educadas exclusivamente para el ajedrez, no irían a la escuela. Su hija,  Judit Polgár logró el título de Gran Maestro en 1991 con 15 años convierténdose en la persona más joven en lograrlo desbancado a Robert James y a “Bobby” Fischer

Su experimento:

Se escogió el ajedrez porque según Polgar “era un arte, una ciencia y una competición por lo que los resultados se podrían medir“

Sus Resultados:

Tuvieron tres hijas, la primera Susan con sólo 4 años ya creaba sus propios problemas de ajedrez, algunos de los cuales se usan en la actualidad en las escuelas y con 15 años ya era la mejor jugadora de ajedrez del mundo según la clasificación ELO y en los siguientes 22 años nunca bajó del tercer puesto.

La segunda hija de los Polgár Zsófia, con 14 años, asombró al mundo del ajedrez con su resultados en Roma, que son conocidos como “el saqueo de Roma” . Ella ganó el torneo obteniendo una puntuación de 8.5/9 (es decir todas las partidas ganadas menos una que empató). Todavía en el 2006, este es el mejor resultado obtenido por una mujer en un torneo, y uno de los mejores , sin importar el sexo.

Estos resultados entusiasmaron a Laszlo pero no saciaron su sed él quería una campeona del mundo

y nació Judith:

La gran diferencia entre Judith y sus hermanas son sus logros, Judith no es la mejor, la primera, etc. Ella es simplemente es la mejor. Citando la wikipedia:

“Es considerada uno de los mejores jugadores de ajedrez de la historia. Recibió el título de Gran Maestro Internacional. En abril del 2006 era la número 14 del mundo según la lista de la FIDE (que incluye hombres y mujeres) con una puntuación Elo de 2711…”

Polgár ha vencido a la mayoría de los mejores jugadores del mundo incluyendo a Veselin Topalov, y a Garry Kasparov.

Ella logró el título de gran maestro en 1991 con 15 años convierténdose en la persona más joven en lograrlo desbancado a Robert James “Bobby” Fischer