Polgar, Susan (Zsuzsa)

Polgar, the No. 1 ranked player in the United States and the No. 2 player in the world, earned her first checkmate when she was only 41/2 and since then has played against all the big names�Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky, Garry Kasparov, and numerous others.

In an interview in Lifestyles magazine (Nancy Ruhling, 2005) Susan noted that as a woman and a Jew growing up in Hungary, she faced discrimination on two levels. Chess was, and for the most part still is, a man's game, and it was she who was the first to break through the gender barrier. While her early wins made her a curiosity in her own country, they only brought her awards and acclaim, not acceptance. �The Anti-Semitism was more subtle,� the 35-year-old Polgar observed, adding that all of her grandparents are Holocaust survivors. �The woman problem was more open. Even though by 1984, when I was 15, I was the top-ranked woman in the world, my real breakthrough didn't come until 1988, when for the first time ever, my two younger sisters, Sofia and Judit, and I won the gold medal in the World Chess Olympiad for Hungary. This was the first time any country had ever won over the Soviets. The government started applauding us, and we became national heroes.�

Polgar went on to win nine other Olympic medals, along with a slew of other honors, including being named Women's World Champion four times, that have allowed her to remain ranked among the top three female players for the last two decades. Her most recent victory took place in October 2004, when she and the U.S. team brought home America's first-ever medal for the women's competition�the silver�in the 36th World Chess Olympiad that was played in Calvia, Spain. In that competition, she further distinguished herself by bringing home two gold medals�one for best overall performance and one for the most points scored in the entire Women's Olympiad �and a silver for racking up the second-best percentage. Since the birth of her sons (Tom is 5 and Leeam is 4) Polgar has devoted herself to promoting, not playing chess. Indeed, the 2004 Olympiad was her first international tournament in eight years. �Now I concentrate on revolutionizing the game and bringing it to the next level of popularity,� she says.

Susan's sister Sofia, who lives in Israel, stopped playing when she was ranked No. 6 in the world but still ranks in the top 20; Judit, who replaced Susan as No. 1, has been inactive recently because she had a baby. Susan, who was home-schooled, was introduced to the game at 4 and her first win, a perfect 10-0 score in the girls-under-11 championship in Budapest, turned her into a media sensation. By age 10, she was beating her father at his own game. By age 15, she was the No. 1 female player in the world. The only world champion, male or female, to win the triple crown�rapid, blitz and traditional world championships�she also is the first woman to win the U.S. Open Blitz Championship; the first woman to win the Grandmaster of the Year Award; the first woman to break the gender barrier to earn the Men's Grandmaster title, and the first woman to qualify for the Men's World Championship.

Polgar has written a number of books, including Teach Yourself Chess in 24 Hours and The World Champion's Guide to Chess.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. 1969

Career Highlights:

Polgar was the Women's World Champion: 1996 - ?

http://www.polgarchess.com

Origin:
Hungary

Category:
Women's World Champion

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