Judit Polgár (Hungary 🇭🇺): having successfully bridged the gap between men and women in the world of chess, she represents not only her title as best female player of all time but also proof that women could play at the highest level.
Polgár was born in Budapest in 1976, where she was the youngest of three sisters. The Polgár sisters were raised in a radical educational manner by their father, who believed that “geniuses are made, not born.” She learned chess at an early age, where she spent vast amounts of time learning the game. Under her dad’s vision, chess was not a hobby but a discipline, making her learning curve exceptionally steep. Polgár stormed the world rankings, reaching the top 100 at the age of 12. She even broke the record of Bobby Fischer by becoming a grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months. She wanted to measure herself against the best players in the world. Because they were predominantly male, she declined various invitations to women-only tournaments.
During her career she beat several world champions, including Garry Kasparov. Her game was characterised as aggressive combined with tactical sharpness. Her peak world ranking was 8th in the world. In 2014 she retired from playing professional chess. Since her retirement, she has focused on education about chess, especially using chess as a tool for both cognitive development and equality. Her career inspired a lot of girls to play chess, because Polgár showed that the gender gap in chess can be bridged.
References:
Chess.com
FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess
Encyclopedia Britannica