About Susan Polgar:
– Winner of 4 Women’s World Championships (Under 16, Blitz, Rapid, and Classical)
– First World Chess Champion in history (male or female) to win the triple-crown (Blitz, Rapid and Classical World Championships)
– The only person in history, male or female, to win all 6 prestigious crowns in chess: World Classical, Rapid, and Blitz Championships, Olympiad Gold (Individual and Team), and World #1 ranking!
– 5-time Olympiad Champion with 12 overall medals (5 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze)
– Head Coach of record 7 consecutive Division I Collegiate Final Four Championship teams (Texas Tech 2011-2012, Webster University 2013-2017)
– Head Coach of record 7 consecutive Division I PanAm InterCollegiate Chess Championships (Webster University 2012-2018)
– Head Coach of the #1 ranked Division I team for 10 consecutive years (Webster University 2012-2021)
– Received the best female chess trainer in chess history award by FIDE (2024)
– Previously held 5 world chess records (* still unbroken):
– Youngest ever #1 ranked female player in the world in 1984 at 15 years, 73 days, beating the previous record of 18 years, 349 days held by former Women’s World Champion Maia Chiburdanidze
– * 56 consecutive Olympiad game Scoring Streak (A record of 31 wins, 25 draws, 0 loss [77.7%] over 4 Chess Olympiads from 1988 – 2004, all on board 1)
– Most Simultaneous Games Played (326 players: 309 wins, 14 draws and 3 losses = 96.93% in 16 hours and 30 minutes)
– Most Games Won Simultaneously (309)
– Highest Simultaneous Winning Percentage (96.93%, beating the old record of 95.64%)
– ** Most Consecutive Games Played* (1,131 games against 551 opponents: 1,112 wins, 16 draws and 3 losses = 99.03% – Previous record: 1,102 games)
FIRST WOMAN EVER IN HISTORY TO:
– Break the gender barrier to qualify for the Men’s World Championship Cycle (1986)
– Earn the “Men’s” Grandmaster title (1991) through traditional FIDE requirements
– Receive the Grandmaster of the Year Award (2003)
– Win the U.S. Open (Men) Blitz Championship (2003, 2005, and 2006)
– Coach a Collegiate Men’s Division I team to win the National Championship (2011)
– Coach a Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Division I Team to win both National Championships in the same year (2015)
– Be named National College Chess Coach of the Year (2013)
– Be named Chess Trainer of the Year (2014) by FIDE (World Chess Federation)
FIRST EVER (MALE OR FEMALE) IN HISTORY TO:
– Coach a Collegiate Men’s Division I team to win 7 straight PanAm InterCollegiate Chess Championships (2012-2018)
– Coach a Collegiate Men’s Division I team to win 7 straight Final Four National Chess Championships (2011-2017)
– Coach a College Men’s Division I team to win the Final Four National Championships with 2 different universities (Texas Tech 2011-2012, Webster University 2013-2017)
OTHER NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
– Won the Girls’ Budapest Championship under 11 at the age of 4 with a perfect 10-0 score!
– #1 ranked woman chess player in the world at the age of 15 (remained in the top 3 in the world for about 25 years)
– Ranked as the #2 17 year old (among boys) in the world in July 1986 behind Ivanchuk
– Ranked as the #2 17 year old (among boys) in the world in January 1987, only 5 rating points behind Anand, and 20 points ahead of Ivanchuk
– Still currently rated as the #1 female in the United States
– Award-winning and best-selling chess author in numerous languages
– Winner of the prestigious Cramer Award for “Best Chess Column of the Year”
– 3-time winner of the Chess Journalists of America Award
– First ever recipient of the “Chess Educator of the Year” award
– First ever recipient of the “US Scholastic Chess Ambassador” award
– Ambassador and final torch bearer for the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany
– Chess for Peace Ambassador with former World Champion Anatoly Karpov and former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev
– A pioneer in women’s chess and a true role model to millions of young people worldwide
– Founder of the Susan Polgar Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization to promote chess, with all its educational, social and competitive benefits throughout the U.S., for young people of all ages, especially girls. The foundation has awarded around $6 million in chess prizes/scholarships to young chess players on behalf of various supporters/sponsors
– Founder and Managing Director of www.ChessDailyNews.com, the world’s most popular personal chess website
– Subject of multiple chess documentaries, including International Acclaimed National Geographic “My Brilliant Brain”
Twitter: @SusanPolgar
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Instagram: SusanPolgarChess
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