Chess (#1110)

Judit Polgar's retirement came as a shock. The Hungarian GM is 38. She has been No.1 on the women's list since she was 12. Polgar scored 4.5 from 6 at Tromso, helping Hungary win a silver medal. She is unique in that she has two Olympiad golds with the women and two silvers with the open team. The mother of two remains connected to the game.

Polgar will always be remembered as the woman who comprehensively broke the gender barrier. She was, for a while, the youngest-ever Grandmaster, taking the title at 14. She could have become world women's champion any time she pleased. But she chose to ignore the women's circuit and play against the toughest opponents available, in a very principled sporting decision. It would take pages to list all her achievements. She won the World U-16 Open title. She was the first woman to make the Top 100. (Hou Yifan is the only other). Polgar is the only woman to make the Top 10 and play the Candidates. Her clear tactical vision brought her many spectacular wins. She has wins against Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Vaselin Topalov, Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, etcetera.

The Polgars are an unusual family, Hungarian Jews, who bucked the system when Hungary was a Soviet satellite. The parents, Klara and Lazslo, believed genius was more nurture, not nature. They home-schooled their three daughters, teaching them multiple languages, and mindgames, along with school work.The eldest, Zsuzsa (Anglicised to "Susan"), was the first woman to play consistently at GM strength. Middle sister, Zsofia ("Sofia"), had an incredible result when she won a strong GM event in Rome aged 14, with a score of 8.5 from 9 games. The youngest, Judit, was in a different league.

The sisters faced hostility as the children of Jewish mavericks in an Antisemitic communist nation. They faced sexism, including legal issues. They won both team and individual golds twice in the Women's Olympiad. The Hungarian Federation was very uneasy when Judit forced her way into the Open Olympiad team. She opened the door for Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk and all the women who now play "mixed" events. Someday other women will break into the top echelons and they will always owe Polgar a debt of gratitude for showing it was possible.

THE DIAGRAM BLACK TO MOVE (Alexei Shirov Vs Judit Polgar, Buenos Aires 1994) is one of many of Polgar's brilliances. Black played 15...Qxg5!!The fork 17.Qxg5 Nf3+ 18.Kd1 Nxg5 hits e4. White replied 16.Na5 Ne3! Now it's a mating attack if 17.Bxe3 Qxe3 18.Nxb7 Nf3+ 19.Kd1 Qd2# or 17.Qxg5 Nf3# Instead, Shirov lost quietly with 17.Qg3 Qxg3 18.Nxg3 Nxc2+ 19.Kd1 Nxa1 20.Nxb7 b3 21.axb3 Nxb3 22.Kc2 Nc5 23.Nxc5 dxc5 (0-1, 29 moves) ending.

Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player