Alexandra comments..

Judith is clearly very gifted, and she has worked a great deal from a very early age. Also the fact that she has insisted on playing exclusively in men’s tournaments has raised her level, and it’s all to her credit.

~ Alexandra Kosteniuk (when asked "What could be the reason that makes Judith Polgar different to other girls, who cannot make it to 2700 or over?")

from Interview with Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk (LatestChess)

So there are advantages to not playing gender-limiting based tournaments. It can increase your overall chess strength!

Down 2 pawns and still manages a draw

This game is particularly special for the nice end game where Judit drew despite being 2 pawns down. Theoretically it’s very interesting and it’s a good lesson in never giving up even when things are looking gloomy.

Grischuk-biel-2007 vs judit-in-biel-2007

Jennifer Shahade has a nice article highlighting this particular ending in her article "Drawing lesson from Judit" on her 9queens.org blog.

Interview with Judit Polgar

Chessbase posted an interview with Judit Polgar:

To me, chess is a psychological game and glances are a part of this personal game. But I don’t think they have the importance everybody keeps trying to give them.

Judit-and-Oliver

 

From a personal point of view, my goal is to raise my children so that they can be happy, successful and take care of themselves in the future. To support them all the way. Whatever they do, their mother will always be there for them. From a professional point of view, now that I have a family I choose the tournaments I play in, why and against who a lot more. I want to play chess while I’m still fascinated by it. The moment I stop having fun, I will quit this.

 

Full interview here.

Sofia speaks out

sofia-polgar.jpg

The same year that Bobby became world champion, my elder sister, Susan, then 3 years old, found a chess set. Years later, Susan, my younger sister, Judit, and I led the Hungarian team to victory in the international chess Olympiad. Today, Judit is rated among the top 20 players in the world. When she became a grandmaster at age 15, she broke Fischer’s record as the youngest player to reach the mark. This was especially sweet, as Fischer’s opinion of a woman’s abilities was not terribly high. “They’re like beginners,” he once said. “They lose every single game against a man. There isn’t a woman player in the world I can’t give knight-odds to and still beat.”

Sofia Polgar in Remembering Bobby Fischer (Forward.com)

Judith Polgar’s latest rating

Judit PolgarJudit Polgar is now ranked number 22 in the world in the latest FIDE rating list that came out on the January 2008.

Her highest rank is no. 8 in the world and we are sure she will improve her current rank despite challenges like a marriage and having to raise two new kids :)

Her rating is now 2707 and despite numerous advancement in women chess, she is still the ONLY women in FIDE Top 100 players list.

Judit’s highest ever rating was in Oct 2005, at 2735.

All those are just number but it shows the tenacity and strength that Judit Polgar has to maintain such high standards in chess as well as trying to have a normal family life.

Keep it Judit!! We will be watching and supporting you closely for the rest of 2008.