Zsófia Polgár
Encyclopedia
Sofia PolgarSofia Polgar (born November 2, 1974 as Polgár Zsófia (ˈpolɡaːr ˈʒoːfiɒ) is a Hungarian
-born International Master of chess
and former chess prodigy
. She is an International Master and Woman Grandmaster, and is the middle sister of Grandmasters Susan
and Judit Polgár
. Since 2006, she has lived in Canada, working as a chess teacher and artist.
. She and her two sisters were part of an educational experiment carried out by their father László Polgár
, in an attempt to prove that children could make exceptional achievements if trained in a specialist subject from a very early age. "Geniuses are made, not born," was László's thesis. He and his wife Klara educated their three daughters at home, with chess as the specialist subject. They also taught their daughters the international language Esperanto
.
In 1989, at the age of 14, she stunned the chess world by her performance in a tournament in Rome
, which became known as the "Sack of Rome". She won the tournament, which included several strong Grandmasters, with a score of 8.5 out of 9. According to the Chessmetrics
rating system, her performance rating was 2735; one of the strongest performances in history by a 14-year-old.
On February 7, 1999 Polgar married Georgian
-born Israel
i Grandmaster Dr. Yona Kosashvili
and made an aliyah
to Israel with her parents. They have two children, Alon and Yoav. Later, they emigrated
to Toronto
, Canada. For a time, she ranked as the 6th-strongest female player in the world. She played one FIDE-rated game in July 2005. Prior to that, her last FIDE-rated game was in September 2003. At one point she beat Viktor Korchnoi
at a game of fast chess. However, Korchnoi said that this was "the very first and the very last game [she] had ever won against [him]."
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born International Master of chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and former chess prodigy
Chess prodigy
Chess prodigies are children who play chess so well that they are able to beat Masters and even Grandmasters, often at a very young age. Chess is one of the few sports where children can compete with adults on equal ground; it is thus one of the few skills in which true child prodigies exist...
. She is an International Master and Woman Grandmaster, and is the middle sister of Grandmasters Susan
Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess Grandmaster...
and Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.Polgár was ranked No...
. Since 2006, she has lived in Canada, working as a chess teacher and artist.
Career
Polgár is Jewish, and from BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. She and her two sisters were part of an educational experiment carried out by their father László Polgár
László Polgár
László Polgár , is a Hungarian chess teacher and father of the famous "Polgár sisters": Zsuzsa, Zsófia, and Judit. He authored well-known chess books such as Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games and Reform Chess, a survey of chess variants.László is an expert on chess theory and owns over...
, in an attempt to prove that children could make exceptional achievements if trained in a specialist subject from a very early age. "Geniuses are made, not born," was László's thesis. He and his wife Klara educated their three daughters at home, with chess as the specialist subject. They also taught their daughters the international language Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
.
In 1989, at the age of 14, she stunned the chess world by her performance in a tournament in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, which became known as the "Sack of Rome". She won the tournament, which included several strong Grandmasters, with a score of 8.5 out of 9. According to the Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
rating system, her performance rating was 2735; one of the strongest performances in history by a 14-year-old.
On February 7, 1999 Polgar married Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
-born Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Grandmaster Dr. Yona Kosashvili
Yona Kosashvili
Dr. Yona Kosashvili is a Georgian-born chess Grandmaster and physician, who now lives in Canada.He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, moved to Israel as a child, and now lives in Toronto, Canada....
and made an aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel with her parents. They have two children, Alon and Yoav. Later, they emigrated
Yerida
Yerida is a Hebrew term referring to emigration by Israeli Jews from the State of Israel. Yerida is the opposite of Aliyah , which is immigration to Israel...
to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada. For a time, she ranked as the 6th-strongest female player in the world. She played one FIDE-rated game in July 2005. Prior to that, her last FIDE-rated game was in September 2003. At one point she beat Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
at a game of fast chess. However, Korchnoi said that this was "the very first and the very last game [she] had ever won against [him]."