42 responses to “Your questions for GM Judit Polgar”

  1. Hi, Judit. You and Michael Adams are my two favorite players. Even though you have very different styles, you both have a direct and simple way of playing that almost makes it look easy. So of course I bought the book of your games Judit Polgar: The Princess of Chess by Tibor Karolyi and I’m enjoying your games very much.

    My question is, do you plan on releasing a games collection soon with your own annotations? That would really be something. Don’t deprive us of your insights into attacking play! :)

    Thanks, Mike S.

  2. Hi Judit,

    I am fan of your attacking CHESS.
    I want to know , In your opinion who is the most attacking player you have ever met?

    regards,
    suman

  3. Hi Judit,

    I am fan of your attacking CHESS.
    Please tell me your view about Indian GM Vishy Anand.
    He is famous for his defensive game

    regards,
    suman

  4. Questions for Judit Polgar:

    – Your sister Susan has stated that you acheived a higher standard at chess than her and Sofia becuase you worked hardest at the game. Do you agree with this? Also is it obvious to you which of you had the most natural talent, or is it simply impossible to tell?

    – What methods do you use to prepare these days, and how does your time split between studying different things, e.g. your previous games, general opening preparation, specifc preparation for specifc opponents, middlegame practice and endgame study?

    – Do you think any of the current women’s elite can equal or surpass your acheivements? How long do you think it will be before another woman reaches the world’s top 100 or even the top 10?

  5. 1) you are obviously the most accomplished of the Polgar sisters. Do you feel any pressure because you are the only one still competing?

    2) You have stayed away from the womens only tournaments while girls only tournaments in the US have been encouraged to get more girls involved in chess. What is your reasoning for not competing in women’s only tournaments? Especially the world champion spot?

    3) How often do you speak to your sisters? How long do your study chess daily?

  6. Hi, brazilian fan here.

    1) I would like to know if you, or any other chessplayer you know, linked the chess atitudes (thinking, planning, absolute patience and pursuit the victory) to another part of their lives, in the rest days. For me, it´s matches perfect with videogames, where the instincts of chessblitz suits so well…

    2) Why the most adds always show the board in the “wrong position”, with a black square in the right of players? It´s amuse me a while, almost like a hobby…

    3) Any book with your classic (and fantastic) games in the future? The world of chess needs games like you played…

  7. Hungary has produced many great players in the past-Szen, Maroczy, Charousek for example.

    Were you aware of them growing up, and did you see yourself as especially Hungarian in your understanding of chess?

  8. du u plan on playing n e more tournments this yr or next yr im huge fan of urs

  9. Hi Judit,
    What’s your opinion about the future of chess? Chess has entered the computer era during the last decades, which has a profound influence on over the board creativity. Personally I like the idea of Fischerandom or Chess960. It doesn’t seem to make a break through, though.
    Kind regards,
    Johan

  10. When Bobby fischer visited you & your family,in Hungary, did you or anyone of your sisters, play and kind of chess with him ? (Fischer Random or regular chess) What where the results ??
    Also, I loved the documentary My Brillant Brain, on your sister, !
    Thanks,
    Greg

  11. Would you agree to a match vs. Hou if the money was right?

    Do you have a current chess coach or do you prepare yourself?

    Who is your second during tournament play?

  12. Madam Judith, who do you consider to be the strongest player among the active grandmasters and may i know please the most difficult opponent you u have played with? thank you

  13. Hi, Judith, I’m one of your million fans and I come from Greece.
    Do you think talent, hard work, good coaches are the recipe for success? Which is more important?
    Is it true that young girls are almost equally strong with young boys but after the age of 14-16 they start to diverge and fall behind?

  14. Hi Judith,

    What are the basics from where to start with Chess training for Kids and what could be some of the steps for progression?

    Do you have any high level overview of how to achieve the same?

    Regards
    Narayanan

  15. Hello Judith!

    It’s great to be able to ask a GM questions about play. I’ve always liked your attacking style.

    What I’d like to know is: what openings as white and black do you favour and why? Which ones do you recommend a non-expert to play in order to get a playable position, one that doesn’t end up with too many weaknesses in the middle game?

    Best regards,
    Philip

  16. 1. Do you feel motherhood has so far inhibited or delayed you from reaching your full chess potential?

    2. Do you believe female chessplayers have a disadvantage vs. men in this sense, since to a greater extent than male players, female players (such as yourself) tend to take time off from chess to raise their children?

    3. Do you believe you can still rise to your highest potential, i.e. surpass your previous #8 ranking and/or rise above your previous record 2735 rating?

    Thank you for sharing–you are my favorite living player.

  17. Hi Judit,
    All my admiration and support are for you. Always.
    As your absolute fan, may I hope you’ll always fight for conquering the world champion title?
    It’s hard I know but I believe you can. At least, you are the only woman that can reach it.
    Angelo (Italy)

  18. Judit:

    Thank you for taking our questions.

    1) You first topped 2700 on the FIDE list in January, 2003, and then you did it again in September, 2011. Was one of those milestones more pleasing for you than the other? If so, which one, and why?

    2) In selecting a move, how much of your decision is guided by your objective evaluation of the position, and how much is guided by what you know of your opponent’s playing tendencies?

    3) I’ve started a chess club at my elementary school (K-5) where I teach music. We have 73 members from a student population of 600. This is a brand new club (as of September). Some are complete beginners, some know how to castle queenside, and some have heard about capturing en passant. Do you have a recommended curriculum for an academic setting for this age group?

    Thank you.

    Jim Cheyne

  19. Hi Judit,

    First of all, hearty congratulations to you in your spectacular display in the recently held World Cup.

    Below are the three questions, I wanted to ask you:

    1. Did you ever wanted to trade your attacking style of chess to a more positional and strategic style of chess like that of Karpov, Kramnik?

    2.Who are the 3 toughest GMs you have ever faced and what particular problems did you have with those?

    3. Are you having any future goals like breaking 2750 ELO rating or any other unfulfilled chess desire?

    Wishing you all the best in your personal and professional life.

    Thanks.

  20. judit, greetings.
    1) when will you take part in the world women’s chess ch.,?
    2) why don’t you visit India and play in the grandmaster-tmts., organised here (your previous and only visit so far is to new delhi, say a decade back!)

    sundararajan ganesan
    tamil nadu, india

  21. En que consistia tu entrenamiento mientras estabas creciendo como jugadora tanto como antes de llegar a profesional como despues.Y quien era tu idolo

  22. Greetings GM Judit Polgar you are the best female chess player ever and top 10 best chess player, would you win Women Chess Championship for us fans? we all enjoy your play and certainly would like to see you win.

    Best regards.

  23. Hello Judit

    How would you decribe your thinking process/ technique during the game? Is there an cognitive algoritm you use?
    Could you describe a structure of your thoughts during tha game? Do you support -making a move- with verbalizing you thoughts inside your head? Does it resemble a quiet dialogue inside you? Or maybe it is rather intuitive?

    My best regards
    Marcin Tymrakiewcz

  24. Do you think chess should be mandatory education for all children?

  25. Hi Judithmadam:
    I have been following your career since last several years and hope you will be soon again in the Top Ten at least if not in the Top 3!
    I am interested to know your views on the Qualifying System for the World Championship Match by FIDE.
    First I will give my opinion on the BEST System and only then ask your opinion as to how far you agree or disagree with me, and your objections to it.
    The System: First FIDE MUST make one method permanent as there have been too many changes in the recent past, the latest being the introduction of the round robin all-play-all.
    There should be three matches viz QF, SF and Finals for the World Championship. This should be over a two year period consisting of 8, 12 and 16 games respectively. The current World Champion must be given Seed No. 1 in the QFs and the defeated player in the last Championship Match the No. 2 seed. Under the present method the reigning Champion has a great advantage as he is required to play only one match and win to retain his title. Of course he won in the present system and hence he will be required to sacrifice if the new system is adopted. But someone has to sacrifice for the larger good and I have no doubt that Anand being a true sport will readily agree if the new System is adopted.
    For the remaining 6 slots, two places should be reserved for Nos 1 and 2 in the latest FIDE rating list. For the remaining four slots the first three players in the Grand Prix series should qualify and the 8th place should be for the winner of the World Cup. The seedings for nos. 3 to 8 should be placed as per Ratings of these players in the Rating List.
    QF pairings 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7 etc.
    SF: Match 1 Winner of (1 vs 8) vs Winner ( 4 vs 5)
    Match 2:Winner ( 2 vs 7) vs winner ( 3 vs 6)
    Finals: Winner Match 1 vs winner Match 2.
    ..
    This process should be repeated so that we will have the Match for the world championship every alternate year. Minimum 6 months gap between the QF and SF, and another 6 months between SF and Finals.
    There are several advantages in this System.
    Firstly, the eventual champions would be required to win three matches as against only ONE Match as at present. Thus he will be required to beat three players of different styles.
    In the match just finished Hou decisively beat Humpy. This may be perhaps because of the ‘difficult opponent’ factor i.e. Fischer of Geller, Alekhine of Yates and Humpy of Hou etc.
    Thus under the match system if a Fischer finds himself vs a Geller, he will have to re-double his efforts in preparing for the match, and in the match itself leaving us with exciting chess. Also, in the all-play-all if a person is hugely successful in the first half i.e. Topalov some years ago he can coast to a win solely by drawing all the games in the second half which is not too difficult whereas the other players are engaged in a serious struggle thus giving the leader a great advantage and the second half would have little sporting significance, as far as the determination of the winner of the ty. is concerned. Also, even if this does NOT happen, the winner in a round-robin is one of the best of the players whereas under the three match method the winner is the BEST having won three different matches with world-class players.
    ..
    My question is: In case you disagree the reasons thereof?
    Kind regards
    D.M.Modak
    26th November 2011. 1330 hrs.

  26. Dear Judith

    In my view the future of chess lies entirely in recruiting more girls and women to the game. Do you think we soon will have more women playing on an absolute top level soon? Do you see any candidates now? What does it take to have more world elite woman players?

    Thank you for all the joy you give us!
    Anders Iversen

  27. Ms. Polgar,
    What are your hopes for the game of chess in the long term? Do you like the idea of non-classical games like random, Fischer, and reduced-time chess?

    Thank you. Your chess is monumental, and I respect you for doing it.

    Are there any other things that you think are like chess in that regard?

  28. Hey Judi,

    I appreciate your enrichment of the chess database.

    First, what is your best advise a chess trainer must have, and what are the best tools in order to teach chess to 7-10 years old kids?

    Secondly, how many hours you spend in playing and training per week?

  29. Hello Judit,

    I just want to know what everybody else wants to know.

    Of all the World Champions (from Steinitz to Anand, Khalifman to Topalov) who do you find most attractive as a man?

    Have you ever dated a chess player?

    Kind regards,

  30. Hi Judit!

    Best wishes. We all love you! Keep going.

  31. Hello Judit,

    I would like to know what your favourite chess book is

    And when you were you young, was there any player whose games you would study in particular? Was there any player whose style you wanted to adopt/imitate?

    Thank you kindly for your time to provide the answers to these questions. Best wishes,

    Redmar Damsma,(the Netherlands)

  32. Hello Judit,

    There seems to be a ‘glass ceiling’ of 2600 elo points for women players (you excluded!). They can be in the top of the junior lists before they get 15-16, and then they fail to break through. The male juniors that were their equals around that age keep on progressing and ‘easily’ go on to at least 2650. This is more a feeling, I must admit, than backed up by statistics, but look at Lahno, Koneru, Hou (and numerous other girls): between 16 and 22 most other (male) players are progressing and they are not.
    What is the reason for this, you think?

    Second question:
    One of the reasons given that female chess players can’t get to the top is that they get children and have to look after them. I’ve always wondered whether male chess players never get children… What do you think, is this just a point of imperfect distribution of tasks in relationships of woman chess players?

    Third question:
    I have the impression that women were always more than welcome in the predominantly male chess world, although they sometimes get the welcome of an alien. Of course there is the well known exception of the Grumpy Old Grandmaster. What are your experiences?

  33. Hello Mrs. Polgar,

    Here on the internet, we have a plethora of info about how to go about improving at chess. I’d like your opinion on how to construct a plan for someone who is tired to the bone of their lack of progress and is willing to bring everything to the table in order to make master. In short, I am looking for the opposite of an easy, steady process method of study. I need a program that is tough, demanding and efficient. Help would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks
    Sam

  34. Hello Judith:

    Did you ever think that the title of world champion was within your reach? If so, what prevented you from getting there?

    Thank you.

  35. Dear Judit,

    First of all, I would like to say that I saw you performing 12½ out 13 in Thessaloniki 1988. Even if you were only 12 at that moment and I was in my twenties, back then it was almost impossible not to fall in love with you! Seriously now, I have been since then a big fan of yours.

    My questions:

    1) Which strong chess player in history do you admire most: (a) as a player, and (b) as an overall person? Who has been the best in history in your view?

    2) Do you have any slight regret regarding the way you and your sisters were brought up by your parents?

    3) If you were a man, and didn’t have to be the mother of two babies, do you think that at this moment you would still be among the top 10?

    4) What aspects of your play do you think you should try to improve?

    5) What should FIDE and National Federations do to help advance further the level of women’s chess?

    The current Women’s Grand Prix Tournaments are great as well as are the other Women’s Tournaments and Championship Cycles, but they simply prevent the best female players from facing stronger male opponents in other tournaments. If the best female players keep themselves in the comfort of those tournaments, I would think that none of them would reach the next level (2700). But who (besides you) wouldn’t want to fight for the Women’s World Champion, defend her title, and win the prices from the Woman’s Grand Prix Tournaments? And so, no much time left for other mixt tournaments. Do you have any suggestion?

    6) Do you like the idea of rapid and blitz rating lists? Do you have any personal idea on modernizing chess?

    7) Are you optimistic about the future of chess?

    8) Do you have any personal suggestion regarding the problems of cheating in chess?

    Thank you Judit, and my very best wishes to you!

  36. Hello Mrs.Polgar,

    Just a simple question, what motivates you to play chess? thank you.

  37. Hello Judit . First of all , I just went through your short bio here , many impressive details I was unaware of! Also , greetings on your very successful return to leet chess , keep it going – we desperately need more fighters @ the top .

    Question : Lets say that you have to play the game starting @ 14:00 , and lasting , supposedly , for 4-5 hours or more. Assuming that It`s not professional secret , I would like to know the following:

    How , approximately , does your tournament regime of that day look like , namely , when you go to sleep the previous night , when do you get up, when and what/how much do you eat , walk etc . Also few advices about energy (eating + drinking) during the game , in order to keep one`s brain working , plus – are you using Yoga for concentration @ any moment during the game , including moments before it starts – or any other way to additionally improve the concentration.

    PS On a second read of my question , I am most likely asking (waay) too much , in fact any preparation tips will suffice =)

  38. Hello Judit,

    I would like to know if you like the football score (3-1-0) and what tiebreak system you find more resonable: rapid matches, S-B, number of wins, …?

    Thanks,
    Brian Chalega da Silva. São Paulo, Brasil.