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Chessville is very pleased to have this opportunity to play 20 Questions with GM Susan Polgar,
who, although still tender in years, is already a living legend in the chess world.
We also appreciate all of the photographs supplied by Ms. Polgar and Mr. Paul Truong.

1. Your domestic situation as a child was certainly unusual, if not unique, growing up with two such talented chess siblings.  Did you understand at the time how unusual this was?

One thing that most people forget is I was already very strong when my sisters started to play chess.  I am 5.5 and 7 years older than Sofia and Judit.  Therefore, I played more of a big sister role helping my younger sisters.  It was not until much later that we can all enjoy top level chess together.  I am very proud of both of them.  Our first major success together as a family came at the 1988 Olympiad when we did the unthinkable by winning the Gold medal, ending the Soviet dominance in Women’s Olympiad.  I never really thought about how unique this situation was until later.

2.  In a sense the upbringing of your sisters and yourself was a home-schooling experiment.  With that in mind, we are curious to hear your views on natural (innate) chess talent.  Does such a thing exist, or is mastery solely attained through hard work?

I wish I can tell you that there are some miracle pills that we can take to become strong chess players.  Unfortunately, it can only come from hard work each and every day.  That is exactly what we did.  We worked harder than most others. 

3. Recently in 20 Questions with Chessville we asked Mark Taimanov what sort of composer his own play resembled, and he replied 'Chopin', and for Garry Kasparov 'Shostakovitch.'  With what creative artist would you compare your play?

I don’t think I am in the same league of this great composer.  However, if I have to pick one, I would say Beethoven.  The reasons for that are:  1. He had to endure many problems for his success.  2. He is considered by many the "inventor" of "modern music."

I also had to deal with many problems such as gender, age and religious discrimination.  It was not easy for me.  But I am glad I did because I paved the way for my sisters and many other women players.  Many considered me as a pioneer of modern women’s chess.  Two women were awarded the title of Grandmaster before I was.  However, I was the first to earn the title through normal qualifications.  In addition, I was also the first woman to qualify for the men’s world championship cycle and FIDE had to change the name from Men’s World Championship to just World Championship because of this.

4. Your professional life seems completely committed to stimulating chess development in the USA.  What single factor would most further this development?  What most hinders it?

My dream is to revolutionize chess for the better.  Chess is the most incredible game which brings so much pleasure as well as benefits.  The single most important factor to further this development is to surround myself with competent, creative, and passionate people who love chess such as my friends Paul Truong (Captain of the 2004 U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team), Frank Niro (former ED of the USCF), and many others.

What would hinder my goals is money.  If we don’t succeed in doing sufficient fundraising for our initiatives, it will slow things down.

5. What is your opinion of the role of a central organization in chess, such as USCF, compared with the private sector in developing chess in the USA?

In my opinion, the role of the USCF is promote U.S. chess, run national tournaments, maintain a national rating system, and be the official chess governing body in the U.S.  The USCF should work closer with organizers and other organizations such as the America's Foundation for Chess (AF4C), Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) and Susan Polgar Foundation (SPF), etc.  In addition, they should put away the politics and concentrate in bringing in the right talent that could help popularize this game.

7. Are women superior to men as chess teachers?

Not necessarily, just as men are not superior to women in chess.  It is up to the individual and how hard he/she works to become the best.  Unfortunately, there are not enough qualified women chess teachers out there.  I am hoping to start running certified training classes next year for more women to become chess instructors the right way.

9.  Can you tell us more about the controversy surrounding the selection of the U.S. Women's Olympiad team?  USCF President Beatriz Marinello, in a recent 20 Questions interview, stated "The important aspect now if to fully support our teams in the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Spain."  Is there anything more you would like to add?

I must say I am glad that Beatriz has said the right thing.  We need to fully support this team.  This team has a chance to do special things.  The members of this team have given their all for more than one year for a chance to bring home the pride for the U.S.  Unfortunately, a lot of things have been done by some chess politicians (and malicious, vindictive and jealous people) that permanently destroyed some of the special bonds and chemistry among the players.  I am not sure how badly it will hurt us at the Olympiad.  Many things were said publicly that were not true.  Lies and propagandas have been put out by some who cannot stand to see the success of the training program or this team.  Unfortunately, some people bought into these lies because they did not know the truth.

I hope that the team captain Paul Truong (unanimously elected captain by the members of the 2004 U.S. Women’s Olympiad team) will be able to once again unite the team.

This is how the entire project got started.  I was approached by Mr. Frank Niro in November / December 2002 about the possibility of making a comeback to chess to head the U.S. Women’s Team in the 2004 Chess Olympiad.  In addition, he asked me to help the USCF promote chess in this country.  This was not an easy decision for a few reasons:  1) I was and still am in the middle of an ugly divorce.  I did not know if I could fully concentrate in the Olympiad or not.  2) I have two young children.  My number one obligation is to my children.  Being a great Mom is my top priority.  3) I was still representing Hungary officially.

After many positive conversations with Mr. Niro and my best friend Paul Truong, I decided to switch federation from Hungary to the United States and represent this country.  This was one of the biggest and most difficult decisions of my life because a World Champion usually does not change federation.  But I wanted to help U.S. Chess since this country is now my home and both my children are born here.  Therefore, I agreed.  However, before I agreed to do it. I had one specific request.  If I was to represent this country which is a very high honor, I wanted to do things right.  I did not want the team to go to the Olympiad unprepared.  I played in three Olympiads and I won six medals including three Gold.  I take this very seriously.  My request was there has to be a serious training program for the team.

Mr. Niro and Paul Truong told me that they would help me find sponsors and put together this training program and Paul would help do promotion for the program and the team.  They did a wonderful job and the program started with flying colors.  Kasparov Chess Foundation, through Michael Khodarkovsky, and Garry Kasparov entered into the picture as one of our sponsors.  The Executive Board unanimously supported the idea of the training program.  Everyone understood that the success of the program and the team may really revolutionize chess in America the way the women’s soccer team did for soccer after their victory in 1999.

Unfortunately, when the new board was elected, some new board members did not bother to ask Mr. Niro, Paul Truong, Michael Khodarkovsky or me about the program.  They made assumptions without facts.  Some of them made outrageous remarks and decisions that affected the entire project negatively.  In addition, when the AF4C decided not to hold the U.S. Championship in 2004 which is supposed to be the official qualifying event for a spot on the team, things turned ugly.  Instead of going into details, all I can say is too many people made decisions based on their political future, personal gain and ego rather than for the good of U.S. Chess.  Too many people made assumptions rather finding out the truth.

The funny thing is this was one of the first issue I addressed the Executive Board about when I first met them in March 2003.  There must be a timely U.S. Championship in 2004.  If not, a qualifying tournament must be held.  We cannot unilaterally take the 2003 champion without ever announcing that the 2003 U.S. Championship was the official qualifying event.  In addition, we cannot unilaterally make a decision to exclude other players a chance to qualify for the team. How can you deny young talented players like Hikaru Nakamura, Jennifer Shahade, Rusa Goletiani or Tatev Abrahamyan out of a chance to qualify for the Olympiad?  This scenario was unthinkable.

Unfortunately, due to the financial problems of the USCF, the Olympiad issue was put on the backburner.  This is why so many problems took place.  People made false promises which could legally affected the future of the federation.  How could any board member promise the 2003 U.S. Women’s Champion an automatic spot on the 2004 team without reviewing the situation or consulting people who are involved in this process?  That was such an insult and a slap in the face to all of us and it was totally irresponsible.  The worst part was some of these board members leaked out false information to protect themselves and harm this project.  This false information then appeared in various websites without giving anyone else a chance to respond to the false information.  Is this in the best interest of chess?  Even board members fought among themselves over this problem.  Some board members did the right thing by standing up for the good of chess.

At the end, the USCF decided to hold the 2004 U.S. Women’s Championship.  This was the right decision.  It is definitely better than no tournament at all.  Unfortunately, bad blood has been created.  This is the last thing U.S. Chess needs.  Now that we know Jennifer Shahade rightfully and deservingly earned the fourth spot on the team, we try to move forward to do our job at the Olympiad.  It is unfortunate that instead of taking a wonderful situation and do incredible marketing and PR to boost U.S. Chess, it is now become one of the most controversial incidents in U.S. Chess history.

The bottom line is none of us got involved in this program for personal or financial benefits.  We sacrifice almost two years of our lives for the good of chess in America and indirectly, the world.  If we are successful with our goals, this will benefit all chess players in this country and across the globe.  It is shocking to me that many of the politicians simply cannot comprehend this.  We need to think further ahead, have bigger goals, deeper vision, and actually do more, a lot more!  The same old same old attitude nearly destroyed the USCF and now FIDE is in serious trouble.  If chess stay like this, it cannot attract enough serious sponsors.  When will these politicians realize this?

Many good people are being attacked unfairly because of the dirty politics.  I hope that things like this would not happen again in the future.  In the time of crisis for chess in the U.S. and around the world, we need to unite and work together for the good of the game instead of destroying each other.  Once again, I am asking everyone to put aside their differences and let's work together to protect and enhance the game we all love!

10.  Can you talk about the entire concept of women-only chess events?  Are these useful for encouraging more women to participate in the Royal game, or are they more of a hindrance to gaining acceptance of and "mainstreaming" women players into the chess world?

As I have stated thousands of times during my chess career, I believe that women can play chess just as well as men do IF they put in the same efforts.  However, there is one thing that people must accept.  Women and men are created differently.  Many young girls do not look at chess as a competitive game as the boys do.  Many of them look at chess more for its artistic value as well as creating opportunities to make new friends and create personal enjoyment.  Therefore, when these young girls enter into the chess world, they get discouraged very easily and many of them give up the game.  We cannot change how these girls think.  Therefore, it is best to adjust the game to fit their desires and maintain more girls in chess.

That is why I created the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls and I am actively promoting many other girls’ events.  The more girls you bring into chess and the longer you keep them interested, the more chances you will produce stronger and better women players.  It is based on the rule of probability.

In addition, let’s not forget that the idea of women playing chess was not widely accepted by society not so long ago.  The peer and social pressure is just incredible for some young girls to handle.  I know I went through this most of my younger years, even after I became the number one woman player in the world at the age of 15.

Rather than talking about how to help women’s chess like many politicians do, I decided to lend a hand and try to get things going.  I am lucky to have wonderful people helping me.

11.  Your sister Judit is known for avoiding women-only tournaments.  Have you ever been interested in doing likewise?

Actually, Judit did play in women’s only events.  All three of us did but on a very limited basis.  But we tried to avoid them as much as possible because we wanted to face the best competition to improve our chess.  I was basically the first woman to play in all male tournaments.  I only decided to compete in the women’s championship cycle to quiet all the critics who said that the Polgar sisters could not play against other women.  My sisters and I did the same thing in the 1988 and 1990 Olympiad, ending the Soviet dominance in Women’s Olympiad.  I have no desire to play in women’s only tournament unless it is for specific reasons.

12.  Who among the young and coming female chess players has the best chance of reaching the men's GM title?  When will the first woman become overall World Chess Champion?

I believe Kosteniuk, Lahno, Zhao, Dzagnidze, T. Kosintseva, etc.  In the United States, I think Krush and Zatonskih.  I hope I will see a woman become overall world champion in my lifetime.  I think my baby sister Judit still has a shot.

13.  Should FIDE decide to replace the current knock-out format for determining Women's World Champions with a more traditional cycle based on match play, will you consider making another run for the title?

Yes, if it makes financial sense.  With the current prize fund, the winner would only get $48,000.  That is ridiculously low.  In the old system, the women’s championship final match would have a $200,000 minimum prize fund.  Even with that amount, I thought it was too low especially when the men were playing for millions of dollars.  In tennis, two of the four Grand Slam events offer equal prize funds for men and women and the other two events offer nearly the same money.  (Australian Open: Men and women's champs: £433,000; French Open: Men's champ: £579,860 Women's champ: £565,364; Wimbledon: Men's champ: £575,000 Women's champ: £535,000; US Open: Men and women's champs: £600,000.)

This goes back to the question why aren’t there more top women players?  One of the answers is it does not make financial sense since women’s careers are usually shorter due to family situation and there are less financial rewards.  The four prime examples are Xie Jun, Zhu Chen, my sister Judit and me.

Women’s chess can be as entertaining as men’s chess.  In fact, in the 2004 US Women’s Championship which took place last month, all but one game had a decisive result.  For most average players and fans, they do not comprehend high-level chess.  They usually look for excitement and drama.  Therefore, there is no reason why the prize funds are outrageously biased against women.  This is an area that I intend to change for all women players.

15.  The advent of strong chess engines and chess database tools have changed the way chess professionals prepare.  Do you welcome this development, or do you see it as a potential threat to chess intuition and creativity?

It harms chess intuition and creativity.  However, it does have a plus side.  Computers, Internet and software help players differently.  If people are so concerned about this issue, play Random or Shuffle chess.  Then the problem will be solved.

16. Can you describe what sort of preparation a GM makes for an event such as your forthcoming match against Anatoly Karpov?  How do you maintain a positive state of mind before and during competitions?

I work out physically.  I go to the gym and I jog.  I also work on tactics and endgames.  I leave the opening preparation last.  To maintain a positive state of mind, I try to stay positive all the time, no matter of the outcome of each game.

17.  What book or books are you reading right now?

A lot of different chess books.  Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to read books just for pleasure right now.  I get most of the information from the Internet and from newspapers.  I also read self-help books to improve on areas that I feel I can improve on.

19. Paint us a picture of what you want to have achieved in chess five years from now.  What steps are necessary to bring this about?

I want to see chess in America and chess as a whole change for the better.  I am working hard toward bringing more interest, enthusiasm, and excitement into chess in the mainstream media / audience.  I am also working to bring chess to TV full time.  I would like for chess to become successful, like the World Poker Tour.

20. As a much interviewed person what question do you wish we journalists would ask, but never do?  What would your answer be?

That is a hard question.  Over the last 30 years, I was asked just about every question you can imagine of.  However, this is one of the questions that I wish journalists would ask:

“You have broken many gender barriers to bring women’s chess to another level such as becoming the first woman to earn the men’s grandmaster title (the same way men do) and the first to qualify for the men’s world championship cycle, what else do you want to revolutionize in chess?”

My answer would be:

I would like to improve / change the following:

-         Selling chess to the mass media and audience as entertainment.  One idea could be like my upcoming match against Anatoly Karpov with 2 games in rapid, 2 in blitz, and 2 in advanced chess.  For an average fan, it is a lot more exciting than 7 hour games.

-         To find sponsors for at least two additional matches with Kamsky and Kasparov and possibly more top players.  I think it would be good for the game because this type of matches can create excitement and interest in the mainstream media.

I have a lot more ideas but these are just some of the ones we could start with.  I hope that your readers have enjoyed my candid views of various topics in chess.  I strongly urge everyone to do their parts to help this wonderful and beautiful game.  Thank you for this opportunity to discuss many important subjects.

Enjoy these other fascinating pictures of Susan Polgar, and her sisters.  Chessville is indebted to GM Polgar and to Paul Truong for making these pictures available for our readers.  Click on each picture below to see a larger version.

Index of all 20 Questions Interviews

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