Judit Polgar: The only woman to beat Kasparov says 'We don't want to play against AI, we're not stupid'

Judit Polgar, hailed as the "Queen of Chess" and the only woman to defeat Garry Kasparov, captivated audiences at the Sunset Sports Festival in Zadar. She shared insights into her unique upbringing, a stark contrast to typical childhoods.

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I started playing chess at the age of five. My mother taught me the basics. Susan was already playing tournaments, so it was easier for me. I learned a lot from my sisters, because when you are the youngest, you watch what your older sisters do, how they behave. Actually, I learned things by watching them without specific teaching.

Born in 1976 in Hungary, Polgar described a modest childhood with her two older sisters, Susan and Sofia. Their parents, both teachers, worked extra jobs to afford chess coaches, a testament to their dedication. Her father, László Polgár, was a visionary who believed that genius could be cultivated regardless of origin. He eschewed traditional schooling, viewing it as a waste of time, and instead focused his daughters on targeted subjects from a young age. His wife became his partner in this ambitious educational experiment.

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My father was a very special personality. He had a difficult childhood, he was a teenager when he came to Budapest without parents. He felt that healthy children could be special regardless of where they were born.

Polgar began playing chess at five, learning the basics from her mother and observing her sisters' progress. She found the game itself mesmerizing, quickly demonstrating her talent. While chess was a recognized sport in Hungary, her father's insistence that his daughters compete against men, rather than exclusively women, was unconventional. He faced resistance from the national chess federation, which questioned the need for a female grandmaster when male players were already prominent.

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Chess hypnotized me as a game, so I showed my talent very quickly.

Her competitive journey began early. Polgar won her first tournament at age six and achieved significant international recognition at nine by winning seven out of eight matches at the New York Open. This early success, coupled with her father's unwavering belief in challenging norms, set the stage for her remarkable career as the world's top-ranked female player and a formidable competitor in the absolute rankings.

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What was not accepted was that our parents insisted that the three of us would be female chess players who would play against men, and that was a different story.