A Revolutionary Chess Champ
by Tom Kertes

Susan Polgar, an attractive, stylish young woman, defies the stereotype of the chess grandmaster as a bearded, revolutionary old man. Relaxing in the lobby of Queens’ Elmhurst Hospital, where she is the event director and organizer of the first International Mayor’s Cup Grandmaster Chess Tournament, she says about being a revolutionary, “Well, I didn’t really mean to become one, but I guess, you could say things did turn out that way.”

In 1979, the ten-year old Susan won her first Hungarian women’s national chess title. Then, through her father, who is also her coach, she announced that she would only play against men. Discrimination? Sure—but not on the Polgars’ part. Throughout history, in Hungary as well as everywhere else, girls have been discouraged from playing chess, even though the sport of kings is pure brainwork—giving no reason why they couldn’t compete as equals.

Thus, Polgar’s announcement created major waves. “The authorities did not take kindly to me or my father, to say the least,” she explains. “We had all kinds of obstacles put into our way to make us fall in line, including taking away our passports so we often couldn’t play tournaments in the West.” One night, the police showed up, dragged the home-schooled Polgar away for not attending school and threatened her father with a lengthy jail term.

Things were exacerbated by the fact that Polgar’s younger sisters, Sofia and Judit, both followed in her footsteps, also becoming exceptional chess prodigies at an early age. During the late 1980s, all three sisters were ranked in the world’s top six women chess players, in spite of all the obstacles.

The Polgar sisters eventually compromised with the authorities by agreeing to play against women
during the 1988 and 1992 Chess Olympics, comprising three-fourths of the Hungarian team and astounding the world. That changed everything. “We became celebrities,” she says. “Suddenly, everyone was our friend. We could do whatever we wanted to do.”

Polgar was regularly beating leading men players like ex-World champions Anatoly Karpov and Victor Korchnoy, and she won the 1996 World’s women’s chess championship title in a head-to-head matchup against China’s Xien Jun. Two years later, when Polgar got pregnant, the FIDE (The International Chess Federation) failed to compromise on an appropriate delay for the return match. She sued, but while she won the case, she still lost her title because FIDE had already matched Xien against another player. (Polgar is set to face Xien next year for another try at the world title.)

Today, women’s chess has become widely accepted—indeed, outrageously popular—in the US and all over the world. Polgar has no regrets about her tumultuous life. “Yes, I lost out on some little girl stuff, some teenage things, practicing 5-6 hours a day,” she says. “But, on the other hand, I’ve gained so much more. Travelling around the world, meeting wonderful people everywhere. And, most of all, becoming a champion at this great game.”

Polgar now runs her own chess center, the Polgar Chess Authority, in Rego Park, Queens, sharing her insights into the game. She also has a successful chess day camp, where she directly teaches or supervises every session.

“What I tell every little girl and every young woman is: Don’t be intimidated,” she says. “Go for it! You can do anything a man can do. And that includes playing chess at a world class level.” #

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