COMMUNITY & CULTURE
THE MELTING POT
Susan Polgar
B y T r i s h M u y c o - To b i n
S
usan Polgar did not get to be a trailblazer without doing the
work - hard work.
“There’s too much with cell phones, video games and
texting … many kids in America today are not used to
rolling up their sleeves and doing the work. As a child in
Hungary, for me, there was definitely more respect and expectation
for hard work,” she said. “Back in the ‘70s, when I was growing up, our
living conditions were very modest. We
had no phone, no car, we lived in a small
place without luxuries, like having a color
TV or air conditioning in the summer.”
Polgar’s parents were both teachers.
It was her father who fostered in her and
her two younger sisters a love for the
game of chess. And for Polgar, who would
grow up to dominate the game and shatter
stereotypes, coming of age in Budapest was
- in many ways - being in the right place at
the right time.
“Chess was very popular. There were
dozens of chess clubs in Budapest - it
was the second-most popular sport after
soccer,” she said.
With her father’s guidance, Polgar
earned her first title within months of
being introduced to the game.
“I won the championship in elementary
school at age 4,” she said. “I was fortunate.
My father was extremely good in showing
me how to play. He made me fall in love
with the game.”
But the young prodigy is quick to add
she was not handed the world on a string.
“It wasn’t easy to grow up as a young
Jewish girl in Hungary who wanted to play chess,” Polgar explained.
“The game was very male-dominated, and little girls and women were
discouraged from playing. There was an attitude that women weren’t
as smart as men - and being Jewish was an additional obstacle.”
Back then, in Hungary and throughout Europe, it was unheard of
for women to play chess for a living, much less conquer the game.
“My dream was to become a chess grandmaster, but people -
including some in my family and our neighbors - believed it was
impossible, and they laughed at the thought,” she said.
But did she ever prove them wrong: Polgar won her first world
title at age 12, and by the time she turned 15, she was ranked the No. 1
female player in the world.
“That was the final answer. I realized I
had the potential to make a living at the
game,” she said.
Polgar went on to make history as the
first female player to qualify to compete in
the Men’s World Chess Championship in
1986. Her rising dominance over the game
opened doors, including the opportunity
to compete in New York City.
“I first came to the U.S. when I was 16,
and then visited at least once a year to
compete,” Polgar said.
At age 25, she officially made New York
her home, and was able to spread her wings
and exert her mastery of chess further.
“The proudest moment of my life was
when I broke the gender barrier in 1991,
and became a grandmaster,” she said,
explaining that a grandmaster is the highest
title awarded to a chess player, and the title
remains with the player for life.
In addition, Polgar continued to achieve
extraordinary feats, including reigning
as the Women’s World Chess Champion
from 1996 to 1999.
Polgar lived in New York until 2007, when
she began her involvement with college
chess and launched her career as a coach at Texas Tech University.
There, she accrued two Final Four National Championships and
founded the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence. SPICE
works to promote chess education as a vehicle for academic excellence
and success following graduation. In 2012, Polgar brought her prestige
“It wasn’t easy
growing up as
a young Jewish
girl in Hungary
who wanted to
play chess … the
game was very
male-dominated,
and little girls
and women were
discouraged from
playing.”
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GAZELLE STL