The Polgár Phenomenon: The Woman Who Beat Kasparov
The Queen’s Gambit was fiction — but Judit Polgár’s story was real. At just 17, she faced Garry Kasparov — the world’s No.1 and the most powerful man in chess. What followed would change the game forever. In the 1980s, the idea that a woman could compete with men was laughed at. Fischer said women were “terrible.” Kasparov claimed they were “weaker fighters.” Then came a family from Budapest who decided to prove the world wrong. Their father, László Polgár, believed geniuses are made, not born. So he raised his three daughters — Susan, Sofia, and Judit — to test that theory. The result? A revolution. By the time Judit was 15, she had won the Hungarian Championship. By 25, she had beaten every living World Champion — including Kasparov, Anand, and Karpov — and reached World No. 8, the only woman ever to do so. Video excerpt courtesy of 64 Squares,”Kasparov thought women could not play chess.” retrieved from Youtube: • Kasparov thought women could not play chess. Video excerpt courtesy of 4 the Win,”Judit Polgar vs Veselin Topalov 2005 FIDE World Championship Tournament” retrieved from Youtube: • Judit Polgar vs Veselin Topalov 2005 FIDE ... Video excerpt courtesy of PVS,”Judit Polgar vs World Champion Anand in Leon 2000” retrieved from Youtube: • Judit Polgar vs World Champion Anand in Le... Video excerpt courtesy of CNN,”Kasparov & Judit Polagr CNN Interview” retrieved from Youtube: • Kasparov & Judit Polagr CNN Interview Video excerpt courtesy of France Télévisions,”Judit Polgar - l'Europe s'élargit 2004 (Fra)” retrieved from Youtube: • Judit Polgar - l'Europe s'élargit 2004 (Fra) Video excerpt courtesy of Judit Polgar,”Global Chess Festival 2015” retrieved from Youtube: • Global Chess Festival 2015 Video excerpt courtesy of BBC News,”The 'Queen of Chess' who defeated Kasparov - BBC News” retrieved from Youtube: • The 'Queen of Chess' who defeated Kasparov... Video excerpt courtesy of Channel One (Perviy Kanal),”Judit Polgar defeating Kasparov - Russia vs Rest of the World” retrieved from Youtube: • Judit Polgar defeating Kasparov - Russia v... Video excerpt courtesy of Magyar Televízió (MTV),”17-year-old Judit Polgar defeating World Champ Boris Spassky” retrieved from Youtube: • 17-year-old Judit Polgar defeating World C... Video excerpt courtesy of Magyar Televízió (MTV),”POLGAR - KARPOV Chess Match 1998, Budapest” retrieved from Youtube: • POLGAR - KARPOV Chess Match 1998, Budaspest Video excerpt courtesy of emmrich,”Judit Polgar simul 1999” retrieved from Youtube: • Judit Polgar simul 1999 Video excerpt courtesy of PVS (Producciones y Video Sociedad),”JUDIT POLGAR Olympic Champion - 1988, Thessaloniki” retrieved from Youtube: • JUDIT POLGAR Olympic Champion - 1988, Thes... Video excerpt courtesy of Radio Television of Novi Sad (RTV Novi Sad),”JUDIT POLGAR Olympic Champion - 1990, Novi Sad” retrieved from Youtube: • JUDIT POLGAR Olympic Champion - 1990, Novi... Video excerpt courtesy of Nemzeti Média- és Hírközlési Hatóság (NMHH),”Polgár Judit 40 - engsub” retrieved from Youtube: • Polgár Judit 40 - engsub Video excerpt courtesy of Jewish Film Institute,”SFJFF35 Presents: The Polgar Variant - Trailer” retrieved from Youtube: • SFJFF35 Presents: The Polgar Variant - Tra... Video excerpt courtesy of Alexandr Gentelev,”Москва 2002 год” retrieved from Youtube: • Москва 2002 год Video excerpt courtesy of D.O.C Travel Service,”BUDAPEST - Szentendre, City Tour (1990)” retrieved from Youtube: • BUDAPEST - Szentendre, City Tour (1990) Video excerpt courtesy of VHGKASPAROV,”Garry Kasparov vs Anatoly Karpov” retrieved from Youtube: • Garry Kasparov vs Anatoly Karpov Video excerpt courtesy of Rob Clark,”Kasparov v Karpov - a look back at their 1990 WC match” retrieved from Youtube: • Kasparov v Karpov - a look back at their 1... Video excerpt courtesy of Judit Polgar Videos,”Judit Polgar - Prima primissima 2008” retrieved from Youtube: • Judit Polgar - Prima primissima 2008 Video excerpt courtesy of the Fifth Estate,”Recipe for genius: How child chess prodigies master the game” retrieved from Youtube: • Recipe for genius: How child chess prodigi... Video excerpt courtesy of Tarijun Digital,”Kasparov vs J Polgar, Tilburg 1997” retrieved from Youtube: • Kasparov vs J Polgar, Tilburg 1997 Video excerpt courtesy of Archivo CanalSur,”Ajedrez: incidente entre Judit Polgar y Garry Kasparov en Linares (1994)” retrieved from Youtube: • Ajedrez: incidente entre Judit Polgar y Ga... Video excerpt courtesy of C-Squared,”Judit Polgar | Legendary Coaching System, Bobby Fischer, Chess Psychology | C-Squared #016” retrieved from Youtube: • Judit Polgar | Legendary Coaching System, ... Video excerpt courtesy of FIDE,”King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championship started in Riyadh!” retrieved from Youtube: • King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championsh...
