THE VIEW
PEOPLE
20
/
WIZZ MAGAZINE
ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES TAYLOR
Judit Polgár’s life reads like
aHollywood film script.
Thephenomenal product of an
educational experiment carried
out by her father in socialist
Hungary, shebecame the
youngest ever chess grandmaster
at 15, was rated the number-one
femaleplayer for more than
25 years and led the charge
for women’s rights by playing
andbeating the pants off men
around theworld. Surely, Jennifer
Lawrence is practising her
Hungarianaccent as we speak?
“There has been some talk
about turningmy life intoa
moviebut I’m not pushing for it,”
chuckles Polgár, who this year
decided to retire from competitive
chess at theage of 38. “It would
JuditPolgár
Theworld’s greatest female chessplayerhas just announcedher retirement.
We challenged theHungarianmaster to tell us hernextmove…
be interestingand funny but at the
moment, I just want to livemy life
anddomy own thing. I’m certainly
not dying for a film tobemade.”
It’s understandable that Polgár
wouldwant to shun the spotlight
asmuchas possible. She has,
after all, been in thepublic eye
almost sincebirth.Growing up in
Budapest, shewas home-schooled
alongside sisters Susanand
Sophiaas part of a controversial
planby her father László to
prove that children couldachieve
greatness if they are educated in
one specific subject froma young
age. The Polgár sisters received
a heavy dose of chess and the
results were remarkable. Susan
becameagrandmaster and
Sophiaan international master.
But it was little Judit who really
stood out, achieving international
success aged just nineat 1986’s
NewYorkOpen.
“From thebeginning chess was
not just agame for me; it was
likea second language,” Polgár
explains. “I startedplayingat
fiveandby theage of 12, I was
the only girl participant at the
events I entered. I was raised to
believe that women areable to
get the same results asmen. So
it was natural for me that I was
representing these ideas of equal
rights and it is a nice feeling
that somepeople look up tome
because of that.”
While Polgár’s career featured
someamazing individual
accomplishments, including
beating the legendaryGarry
Kasparov in2002, she rates
playingas part of theHungarian
team in 1988at the28thChess
Olympiad in Thessaloniki as
particularlymemorable. Flanked
by her sisters and fellow chess
star IldikoMadi, shewon the first
ever gold for her country in the
women’s team event after they
wereblocked from competing
against themen. Polgár remained
devoted toHungarian chess right
up until her retirement, helping the
men’s teamwin silver at the41st
Olympiad in Tromsø last August.
“It’s important that people in
Hungary continue to see chess as
something valuable,” she says. “In
the past there has been debate
over whether chess really is a sport,
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