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Judit Polgar
J Polgar 
Photo copyright © 2009 Jaksa Timea.  

Number of games in database: 1,809
Years covered: 1984 to 2022
Last FIDE rating: 2675 (2646 rapid, 2736 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2735
Overall record: +462 -268 =498 (57.9%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 581 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (341) 
    B90 B93 B33 B32 B30
 Ruy Lopez (203) 
    C67 C78 C89 C65 C92
 French Defense (114) 
    C11 C18 C10 C12 C15
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (98) 
    C89 C92 C95 C90 C84
 Sicilian Najdorf (89) 
    B90 B93 B92 B99 B94
 Caro-Kann (73) 
    B14 B17 B18 B13 B12
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (326) 
    B47 B90 B22 B40 B32
 King's Indian (171) 
    E97 E62 E81 E92 E73
 Sicilian Taimanov (72) 
    B47 B48 B46 B45 B49
 Queen's Indian (60) 
    E15 E12 E17 E16 E14
 Nimzo Indian (49) 
    E32 E21 E49 E53 E48
 Sicilian Najdorf (44) 
    B90 B92 B98 B99 B97
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   J Polgar vs F Berkes, 2003 1-0
   Shirov vs J Polgar, 1994 0-1
   J Polgar vs Anand, 1999 1-0
   J Polgar vs Mamedyarov, 2002 1-0
   J Polgar vs P Chilingirova, 1988 1-0
   J Polgar vs Karpov, 2003 1-0
   J Polgar vs Shirov, 1995 1-0
   J Polgar vs Kasparov, 2002 1-0
   J Polgar vs Kasimdzhanov, 2005 1-0
   Ljubojevic vs J Polgar, 1994 0-1

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
   FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (1999)
   FIDE World Championship Tournament (2005)

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Hastings Challengers 1988/89 (1988)
   Superstars Hotel Bali (2002)
   Villa de Canada de Calatrava (2007)
   Aruba (1992)
   Thessaloniki Olympiad (Women) (1988)
   Hastings 1992/93 (1992)
   Istanbul Olympiad (2000)
   99th US Open (1998)
   Novi Sad Olympiad (Women) (1990)
   European Championship (2011)
   Amsterdam OHRA (1989)
   European Championship (2001)
   SKA-Mephisto Tournament (1991)
   FIDE Moscow Grand Prix (2002)
   World Cup (2011)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Polgars Powers Originally Compiled by wanabe2000 by fredthebear
   Polgars Powers Originally Compiled by wanabe2000 by enog
   Polgars Powers Originally Compiled by Okavango
   Polgar Power Originally Compiled by wanabe2000 by rpn4
   Polgar Power Originally Compiled by wanabe2000 by Patca63
   Zsuzsa (Susan), Zsofia, and Judit Polgar by wanabe2000
   The Princess of Chess - Judit Polgar by rpn4
   The Princess of Chess - Judit Polgar by Resignation Trap
   The Princess of Chess - Judit Polgar by rpn4
   0ZeR0's collected games volume 95 by 0ZeR0
   0ZeR0's collected games volume 94 by 0ZeR0
   JUDIT AND SUSAN POLGAR by rpn4
   JUDIT AND SUSAN POLGAR by vaskolon
   JUDIT AND SUSAN POLGAR by rpn4

RECENT GAMES:
   🏆 Offhand 3-minute blitz
   J Polgar vs Carlsen (Jul-02-22) 1-0, blitz
   Shankland vs J Polgar (Aug-10-14) 1-0
   J Polgar vs V Akopian (Aug-09-14) 1/2-1/2
   J Polgar vs H Nguyen (Aug-08-14) 1-0
   J Polgar vs H Santos (Aug-05-14) 1-0

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Judit Polgar
Search Google for Judit Polgar
FIDE player card for Judit Polgar

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

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 73; games 1-25 of 1,809  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. J Polgar vs Szendrei 1-0211984BudapestB90 Sicilian, Najdorf
2. I Balogh vs J Polgar 0-1281984BudapestB30 Sicilian
3. J Polgar vs H Grooten 1-0221984Blindfold gameB83 Sicilian
4. J Polgar vs T Halasz 1-0261985Training gameB01 Scandinavian
5. J Polgar vs T Hutters 1-0411986CopenhagenB32 Sicilian
6. J Polgar vs Z Simic  1-0421986New York Open Section VIIC10 French
7. J Polgar vs S Villegas  1-0451986Wch U16 GirlsC30 King's Gambit Declined
8. V Alvarez vs J Polgar  0-1371986Wch U16 GirlsB20 Sicilian
9. J Polgar vs O Capo Iturrieta 0-1591986Wch U16 GirlsB83 Sicilian
10. J Polgar vs N Bojkovic 1-0711986Wch U16 GirlsB30 Sicilian
11. J Polgar vs S Nagabhusanam  1-0491986Wch U16 GirlsB53 Sicilian
12. I Majul vs J Polgar 0-1641986Wch U16 GirlsA37 English, Symmetrical
13. J Polgar vs I Kientzler-Guerlain 1-0341986Wch U16 GirlsB90 Sicilian, Najdorf
14. M Riofrio Palma vs J Polgar  0-1231986Wch U16 GirlsA46 Queen's Pawn Game
15. A Hernandez Bonilla vs J Polgar 0-1361986Wch U16 GirlsA36 English
16. J Polgar vs S Djuric 0-1451986Australian Open 1986/87C30 King's Gambit Declined
17. J Polgar vs E Mednis 0-1441987Australian Open 1986/87C15 French, Winawer
18. J Polgar vs D Drimer 1-0621987Australian Open 1986/87B45 Sicilian, Taimanov
19. J Polgar vs K Hornung 1-0541987Australian Open 1986/87C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit
20. T Hay vs J Polgar 1-0311987Australian Open 1986/87B83 Sicilian
21. B Leverett vs J Polgar 0-1301987New York Open U-2400A57 Benko Gambit
22. J Polgar vs A Huss 0-1521987Biel MixC15 French, Winawer
23. J Costa vs J Polgar 0-1221987Biel MixA31 English, Symmetrical, Benoni Formation
24. C Landenbergue vs J Polgar  0-1441987Biel MixA04 Reti Opening
25. J Polgar vs J Costa 1-0321987Biel MixC33 King's Gambit Accepted
 page 1 of 73; games 1-25 of 1,809  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Polgar wins | Polgar loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 35 OF 77 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Oct-15-06  Caissanist: No one would assume that a 30 year old male GM who has fathered two children "has decided to raise children instead of playing chess". Has there been some kind of announcement in that regard? I don't mean to trivialize this--raising children is a huge responsibility--but she's not the only one, and might not even be the main one, who will be doing it. It seems to me that her best days as a chess player may still be ahead of her.
Oct-15-06  Bufon: <It seems to me that her best days as a chess player may still be ahead of her>

That was my point, and see it this way: if she were interested so much in chess, she woudnt have had his second child.

Oct-20-06  THE pawn: <Bufon> I think whatever heights your passions reach in some disciple (here, chess), a child will always go first in your priorities at some point in your life, like Judith right now. I think she is extremely devoted to chess, as much as your hero Topalov, but someday you will want to have children whether it prevents your from exercising your passion.
Oct-20-06  percyblakeney: <someday you will want to have children whether it prevents your from exercising your passion>

...and some have children because of exercising their passion. :-)

Oct-20-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: Hehehehe....
Oct-20-06  eggwipe: To change the subject...

Scientific theory suggests that a person's competitiveness is linked to the relative size of their ring finger. The size of it is said to depend on the amount of testosterone that a foetus is exposed to in the womb. A typical man will have a longer ringer finger than his index finger. For a typical woman it is the other way around (reflecting the fact that men are generally much more competitive than women).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...

A male hand:
http://shire.homeip.net/ManTai/imag...

A female hand:
http://images1.comstock.com/Imagewa...

Of course some women, like Judit, are very competitive. In theory, these competitive women should have a long ring finger. This seems to be true of Judit:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/0...

Contrast with Susan:

http://www.geocities.com/emc_2802/P...

This might explain why it was Judit who went on to become a top 10 player.

Other examples:

Annika Sorenstam
http://images.supersport.co.za/Sore...

Steffi Graf
http://sport.ard.de/sp/tennis/news2...

Kelly Holmes
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/...

Martina Navratilova
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2...

Mia Hamm
http://www.fifa.com/images/cms/afp/...

Oct-22-06  voronin: Polgar is going to win Essent hands down. Go Judit!
Oct-22-06  Frenchfries: Judit about to wrap up game one against Sokolov.
Oct-22-06  samsal27: Fantastic game by Judit. I loved the way the White king danced his way to safety while simultaneously a decisive attack was being launched against Black!
Oct-22-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: The car payment’s late and the mortgage is due
And three of the children are down with the flu
And this week the eggs cost us One Dollar Nine
And dinner was bread with white gravy and I’m

Pregnant again what will we do
Pregnant again it just can’t be true
The doctor just smiled and said young lady you
Pregnant again (pregnant again)

We’ve run out of milk and the baby need’s more
I can’t get the gas to get down to the store
With two almost grown and there’s one on my knee
Oh honey it’s just not a good time to be

Pregnant again what do you know

Pregnant again and it’s starting to show
When daddy comes home I’ll just tell him hello
I’m Pregnant oh gee again

The crib in the attic all covered with grime
And I used all the diapers for dust cloths last time
If I were still thirty I just might not mind
The thought of another pink little behind

My husband works hard two jobs on the side
He doesn’t have much but he sure got his pride
He’s loving and loyal and he brings home each dime
But what will he say when I tell him that I’m

Pregnant again where will we do
Pregnant again it just can’t be so
But I never could count when the lights were down low And I’m Pregnant again (pregnant again)

There goes the new washer we needed so bad
There goes the vacation that we never had
There goes the new TV I thought we’d enjoy
Oh honey who cares I hope it’s a boy

Oct-22-06  positionalbrilliancy: Here's Judit playing a simul http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB7d....
Oct-22-06  cotdt: <eggwipe>very interesting, i never knew that. but it doesn't seem like judit polgar is very competitive person. she is great at chess but her behavior doesn't seem aggressive.
Oct-23-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Gypsy: <cotdt: ... but it doesn't seem like judit polgar is very competitive person. she is great at chess but her behavior doesn't seem aggressive.> From all that I read, quite contrary : Judit <is> the ultimate competitor in the family.

The finger length does not seem to associate with a greater athletic tallent per say, but rather with more competitive drive.

Incidentally, the long ring finger, which is often found in the second-born after the fist-born was a boy, is quite common in the gay population, but not in 'bi'. The testosterone exposure seems to be a polarizing factor, whichever the preferences go. (Just random factoids from Gypsy archives of eclectic knowledge.)

Oct-23-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Gypsy: <keypusher: The car payment’s late and the mortgage is due ...>

That is funny.

Oct-23-06  Monoceros: As a second son *and* someone happily cleaved to another man...I'm speechless. Really, I am. I raise my supposedly-above-average-length ring finger.

And I haven't the slightest tendency to competitive drive, I assure you, except in the most passive-aggressive way.

Oct-23-06  nikolajewitsch: <eggwipe> Interesting thing you raise there. As far as I know there is a well proven correlation between women's ring-finger-to-index-finger-ratio and there tendency to be homosexual; I don't know whether research has been done on the connection between that ratio and, for example, overall aggression or particular fields of intelligence (NOT intelligence altogether!). However, since it is a statistical correlation, it does not give us any information on the single case. For example, although women with longer ring fingers than index fingers tend to be homosexual more often, the ovrwhelming majority of these women is heterosexual; a simple "Show me your hand and I tell you about your character (or sexual orientation)" does not work. So <Monoceros>, there is no contradiction if you don't feel like being a testosterone monster....;-)
Oct-23-06  nikolajewitsch: She is playing a delayed Keres against Topa right now. That is the Judit we know and love: Never afraid of the sharp stuff, even against the big guys! I would love to see her win against him in this, so good luck!
Oct-23-06  samsal27: <I would love to see her win against him in this, so good luck!> Adding salt to Topa's wounds?:)
Oct-23-06  ahmadov: Congratulations to this young lady for her win over Topalov!!!
Oct-23-06  Jafar219: Where is Judit`s best fan User: arielbekarov??
Oct-23-06  Tactical: Gloat Gloat! Whack that weasel!
Oct-23-06  ahmadov: If she was a man, i.e. not spending time for and keeping her mind busy with her children, she could be one of the five strongest players in the world.
Oct-23-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: Hurray, Judit, 2-0 at Essent!
Oct-23-06  Jack Sprat: <keypusher: Hurray, Judit, 2-0 at Essent!>

J! U! D! I! T! Gooooo Judit!!!

Oct-23-06  Karpova: JUDIT POLGAR!
You are the best!!
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