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Judit Polgár

1980s – 2010sWorld Champion —Peak rating 2735213 games

Widely regarded as the strongest female chess player in history. She reached world No. 8 and a peak rating of 2735 while competing in the open world rankings.

Judit Polgár
Photo: Przemysław Jahr, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How Polgár plays

Judit Polgár played sharp, attacking chess from childhood and became a grandmaster at 15, breaking Fischer's record. She beat eleven World Champions in her career, including Kasparov, Karpov, Anand and Carlsen, and was the only woman to reach the world's top ten. Her games are full of direct attacks on the king and precise calculation.

What to learn from Polgár

Polgár's games show that attack can be a complete style, not just a mood. Look at how quickly she brings every piece towards the enemy king, and how she keeps calculating when most players would settle for a safe move.

A game to play through

Polgar, Judit vs De la Villa Garcia, Jesus Maria - New York op 1989 1-0 — the final position. A Polgár win with the white pieces, played through move by move.

Judit Polgár: the final position
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 Nc6 5.a3 Ba5 6.Be3 Nf6 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bf4 f6 9.Ng3 Nxf2 10.Kxf2 Bb6 11.Ke1 Bxd4 12.Bb5 O-O 13.exf6 Qxf6 14.Rf1 Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 Qxc3+ 16.Bd2 Qe5+ 17.Be2 Bd7 18.Rb1 b6 19.Rb3 Rxf1+ 20.Kxf1 Nd4 21.Re3 Rf8+ 22.Kg1 Qf4 23.Kh1 Qf2 24.Bd3 Ba4 25.Re1 Qf7 26.Qg4 c5 27.c3 Nb3 28.Bh6 c4 29.Rf1 Qe7 30.Rxf8+ Qxf8 31.Qxe6+ Kh8 32.Nf5 cxd3 33.Qe5 d2 34.Bxg7+ Kg8 35.Nh6#
Play through 213 Judit Polgár games

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Judit Polgár games on FoxyChess

Watch each game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get.

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