An icon of women's chess

JUDIT POLGAR is a legendary personality not only in women's chess where she is an all-time great but to sportswomen in general. No sportswoman has been in the best ten of their men's discipline, which is quite unique.

She made news by winning the Japfa Classic 2000 Chess Tournament at the Bali Beach Hotel in Indonesia on May 2, finishing ahead of former world champion Anatoly Karpov and the reigning FIDE champion Alexander Khalifman. Scoring four victories and five draws, she totalled 6.5 points from nine games and finished half a point ahead of Karpov and Khalifman. She picked up the first prize of 20,000 dollars. It was one of her career best victories.

Judit arrived on the chess world in the 1988 Thessaloniki Olympiad when she and her two sisters representing Hungary ended the gold hunt of the mighty Soviet Union which was backed by Georgia's tradition. She played the pivotal role in Hungary's triumph. In 1989 she stormed into the No.1 position in the women's rating list which she still holds. The difference between her and the next nearest was at times larger than 100 Elo, an edge Kasparov never enjoyed on the men's list.

Judit is the youngest of the three Polgar sisters. Their parents Laszlo and Klara Polgar used them as an experiment to prove that geniuses are made, not born. The three sisters never had regular schooling but learnt mathematics and music in addition to chess. They played table-tennis for fitness. Considering that what these girls have been moulded into, one has to take the experiment as a huge success. Eldest sister Zsuzsa Polgar became the world women's champion in 1996 and lives in New York with her husband and baby. Sofia Polgar, the second sister, is a men's IM and lives in Israel with a doctor husband where she works for Kasparovchess.com website. Since mid 1999 Judit is accompanied by her fiancee, a veterinary doctor. She lives in Budapest in her apartment and in summer moves to a summer home outside Hungary. She has used the services of a number of people as seconds starting from Pal Benko to Lev Psakhis. Early in their career in the late eighties a number of famous players like Fischer and Anand have visited them and inspired them. Judit was once herself a second to her sister Zsuzsa Polgar and helped her win the world women's title at Jaen in Spain four years ago.

Her career is dotted with several firsts. Judit is the only girl to win a boy's (under-14) world championship when she did that in 1989. She broke the 33-year record of Bobby Fischer to become the youngest men's Grandmaster at 15 years and five months.

In 1991 she won the Hungarian men's championship to become a household name in Hungary and in the world of chess. Judit Polgar is a true professional and has earned all her money from men's tournaments. Known to charge a good fee for television interviews, Judit is mild and friendly and like Anand is a non- controversial figure.

Unlike other women players, the Polgar sisters often chose to play open tournaments or men's only events. Their parents ingrained the idea to play men events only and that proved beneficial. Judit played only men and never had the `pressure' of playing women for the last several years. The last time she played a lady is a good question for a quiz contest, something Judit herself would have forgotten!

Her campaign in closed Grandmaster tournaments have given her individual victories over elite stars as V. Anand, A. Karpov, etc. Her rapid match victory over then reigning FIDE Champion Karpov in 1999 at Budapest was the high point of her career. She had won several tournaments and they include Madrid 1994 and Hoogeveen 1998.

For several years Judit received financial sponsorship from retired Dutch billionaire J.J.Van Oosterom. She works very hard at the board and improved with age until she reached her peak in 1997. She has a few problem areas and they include in fine tuning her opening repertoire and her knowledge of conserving energy by taking draws.

In 1998 something dramatic happened. She priced herself higher realising that she had more commercial value than her super Grandmaster peers except Kasparov. As a result atleast two well known organisers cried foul and dropped her. Being the ruling queen of the chess world she drew much more attention from the press than her rating numbers indicated. The drop in rating and opportunity has brought her to No.25 in the world rank, which is something for a 23-year old girl.

On the circuit, she is like men in the tournament, analysing in the nights, getting up late, missing breakfasts, swimming to keep fit, leaving the tournament hall immediately after defeats, entering the press room after victories, etc. Outside the chess venue, she is always smiling, ready to join her mother for shopping. Judit likes to trick her opponents in tactics which are her forte.

Many players have problems facing her, particularly Nigel Short and Evgeny Bareev. Judit herself finds Kramnik's solid style hard to take on with her high-powered tactical play. Her passion for combinative play is going to keep her in demand as far as invitations go. The challenge from other women players is not likely to threaten her position at the top for atleast the next five years. One thing Judit will miss when she finishes her career will be the world women's title unless she takes a u-turn on her decision not to play in it.Her encounters with Kasparov have been fiery battles. She was close to beating him in their first meeting in Linares 1994 which was labelled `Battle of Sexes'. Kasparov blundered, took back the move at lightning speed and swiftly made another to win. In game number two at Dos Hermanas in Spain 1996, Kasparov ground her to defeat in a seven hour battle and lauded her play. When this writer quizzed her `what did Gaza tell you', she replied, ``You played very well, blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah.'' In their battle three in this year's Corus Tournament at Wijk aan Zee, Kasparov was in trouble but came back and won and later when he knew he was not given the public's prize he walked out of what would have been a customary winner's press conference. Judit Polgar lost but always won the hearts of all for her fair try to win all these encounters.

Judit's extraordinary staying power, courage to play the best at all times have helped her achieve what most sportswoman have not dreamed. Her achievement thus far is enough to make her an icon in women's chess and further success which comes by is nothing but a bonus.

ARVIND AARON

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