Judit Polgar

Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is a Hungarian chess player. Easily the strongest female chessplayer in history, she was ranked 8th in the world in the October 2005 FIDE rating list with an ELO rating of 2735, the only woman on FIDE's Top 100 Players list. She became a Grandmaster in 1991 at the age of 15 years and 4 months, beating the previous record for youngest Grandmaster, set by none other than Bobby Fischer in 1958.

Career

Judit Polgar is considered the strongest female chessplayer of all time. Trained in her early years by her sister Zsuzsa (who ultimately became Women's World Champion herself, and is still the second strongest female player in the world), Judit has always preferred men's events, making it clear from the beginning that she wants to become the true World Champion of Chess. Her steady rise through the ranks of the world's chess elite in recent years has made many wonder whether she might not achieve this lofty goal. Polgar has defeated almost all the world's top players, including former world champion Garry Kasparov, considered by many to be the strongest chessplayer of all time.

Related Topics:
World Champion of Chess - Garry Kasparov

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On the April 2003 FIDE ratings list, Polgar's 2715 rating made her the number 10 ranked player in the world, the first woman ever to enter the world's Top Ten (also known as "the Elite"). That same year, Judit scored her greatest victory: an undefeated clear 2nd place in the Category 19 Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Holland, just a half-point behind Indian star Viswanathan Anand, and a full point ahead of world champion Vladimir Kramnik.

Related Topics:
Corus chess tournament - Wijk aan Zee - Holland - Viswanathan Anand - Vladimir Kramnik

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http://www.fide.com/ratings/top_files.phtml?id=700070

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In 2004, Polgar 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 Zsuzsa, now known as Susan, reactivated her playing status during this period and temporarily became ranked the world's number one woman player again.

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Polgar returned to chess at the prestigious Corus chess tournament on January 15 2005, scoring 7/13. 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. She also gained points in the July 2005 FIDE rating list. This enabled her to retain her spot as the 8th ranked player in the world.

Related Topics:
January 15 - 2005 - Sofia

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In September 2005, Polgar became the first woman to play for the World Chess Championship title. See FIDE World Chess Championship 2005.

Related Topics:
World Chess Championship - FIDE World Chess Championship 2005

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