ST. LOUIS — The top chess players from around the world are in St. Louis this week for the final event of the Grand Chess Tour, and on Monday, one of the most decorated female chess players was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame at Webster University.
Hungarian-American Chess Grandmaster and Webster University’s Chess Coach Emeritus, Susan Polgar, won her first chess tournament, the Budapest Girls’ Under-11 Championship, at the age of four with a 10-0 score.
By 15, she became the top-ranked woman in the world.
In 2019, Polgar was inducted into U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, making her the first woman to be inducted to both the U.S. and World Chess Halls of Fame.
She said it was an honor to be the newest member of the World Chess Hall of Fame.
“It was a special joy for me that it was co-hosted by the Hall of Fame and Webster University, which has been my home for about a decade,” Polgar told Spectrum News.
Polgar was inducted along with Grandmasters Bent Larsen and Lajos Portisch.
She coached Division I collegiate teams at Texas Tech and Webster University, and was the winningest coach in college chess history.
Polgar is the only player in history to earn all six of the world’s most prestigious chess crowns. Some of her accomplishments include being the third woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by the International Chess Federation; held the title of Women's World Chess Champion for three years in a row; and won eleven medals at the Women's Chess Olympiad.
After her playing career, she established the Polgar Chess Center in New York to provide chess training to children. Polgar then created the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) and led the program at Webster University from 2012-2021.
Polgar has seen a big shift in the number of women chess players compared to when she first began playing.
“I used to play mostly against guys because there were very, very few women in most tournaments I competed in,” she said. “I was used to being the only woman.”
While only 1% of US Chess Federation memberships were women in 2002, Polgar created the Susan Polgar Foundation to encourage and provide opportunities for young girls and women in chess.
Ten years later, the percentage of US Chess Federation women memberships jumped to nearly 15%, according to Polgar, who said she was happy to hear the news.
“We’re making progress,” Polgar said. “And I’m very happy to see that while I have been also the first woman to earn the grand master title among men, now there are about 40 women who have done the same, so I paved the road and there is a lot more women participation, as well as the level of women players is a lot higher than half a century ago.”
Polgar is writing a memoir about her life and currently lives in Florida with her family.
On Tuesday, Polgar made the ceremonial first move in the tour and is looking forward to watching the games. Players have a chance to win $175,000.
“Obviously, it’s a matter of who will be in the best form because several of the players are almost equally good, so on any given day, one or the other can win,” she said.
The tour will conclude with the Sinquefield Cup Nov. 21 through Dec. 1 at the St. Louis Chess Club. The grand prize is $350,000.
For more information about the Grand Chess Tour, click here.