Judit Polgár

Judit Polgár was born in Hungary in 1976 and is widely recognized as the strongest female player in chess history. She earned the unrestricted grandmaster title at fifteen. This is the highest standard international title awarded by FIDE, the International Chess Federation. Her achievement broke the youth record then held by Bobby Fischer.

Her career was built mainly in open competition, where players of any gender may enter. She reached the world's top ten and achieved a FIDE rating of 2735 in 2005. A FIDE rating is a number that estimates competitive strength from results against other rated players. Polgár was also the first woman to cross 2700 and to reach the Candidates stage, the part of the world championship cycle that selects the future challenger.

Polgár defeated many world champions in competition. Her route differed from those of champions such as Nona Gaprindashvili and Hou Yifan: rather than focus on the women's title, she consistently sought the strongest opposition in the general circuit. That choice explains why her historical standing does not depend on having held the women's world championship.