Notable Games
Judit Polgar
16 celebrated games · 627 in the full archive
◈The games that made the legend
Tolnai – Polgar · 1991 · 0–1
Her win over Tibor Tolnai at the 1991 Hungarian Championship — a Sicilian Kan as Black — from the event where, at fifteen, she became the youngest grandmaster in history, breaking Bobby Fischer's thirty-year-old record.
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Polgar – Spassky · 1993 · 1–0
A Closed Ruy Lopez win from the ten-game Budapest 1993 match the sixteen-year-old took 5½–4½ over former World Champion Boris Spassky.
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Polgar – Khalifman · 1993 · 1–0
A 19-move miniature at the Seville open crushing future FIDE World Champion Alexander Khalifman: 15.Ndb5 wins the queen and the game is over.
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Polgar – Bareev · 1994 · 1–0
A French (Burn Variation) win over Evgeny Bareev from the Madrid 1994 Magistral, where she finished clear first with 7/9 — the greatest tournament triumph of her career to that point.
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Shirov – Polgar · 1994 · 0–1
Judit's own choice as her best-ever combination — a Sicilian Taimanov as Black at the Buenos Aires 1994 Sicilian theme tournament, 16…Ne3 unleashing a knight-storm that wins on the spot against Alexei Shirov.
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Polgar – Shirov · 1995 · 1–0
A 21-move demolition of Alexei Shirov at the 1995 Donner Memorial: 15.Nxd6 and 19.Rd7+ tear open the Modern Defence.
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Polgar – Ivanchuk · 1996 · 1–0
A sharp Sicilian Richter-Rauzer win over world-elite Vassily Ivanchuk at the Novgorod 1996 super-tournament, refuting his 15…Rxc3 exchange sacrifice.
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Polgar – Anand · 1998 · 1–0
Judit's own pick as her finest positional game — a Najdorf English Attack ground down over 56 moves against Viswanathan Anand at Wijk aan Zee 1998.
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Polgar – Anand · 1999 · 1–0
Judit's own choice as her overall best game — the Perenyi Gambit piece sacrifice (8.Nf5) that blew away Viswanathan Anand in a Sicilian Scheveningen at Dos Hermanas 1999.
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Polgar – Mamedyarov · 2002 · 1–0
A 25-move checkmate on the board at the 2002 Bled Olympiad — 12.Nxf7 launches a king hunt that ends 25.b3#, against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
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Polgar – Berkes · 2003 · 1–0
Her celebrated 14.g4 novelty: Ferenc Berkes had prepared 14…g4 against the expected 14.Bxa8, so she played 14.g4 herself and mated via the 18.Rh7+ rook sacrifice, Budapest 2003.
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Polgar – Karpov · 2003 · 1–0
The Greek-gift 25.Bxh7+ that forced former World Champion Anatoly Karpov to resign in 26 moves — a Petroff — at the Essent 2003 tournament in Hoogeveen, which Polgar won.
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Polgar – Kasimdzhanov · 2005 · 1–0
A Perenyi Gambit win over reigning FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov at the San Luis 2005 World Championship tournament — the first world-title event a woman ever contested.
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Polgar – Topalov · 2006 · 1–0
The first of two wins over reigning world No. 1 Veselin Topalov at Essent 2006 — a Keres Attack as White, 25.Nf6+ cracking his Scheveningen.
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Topalov – Polgar · 2006 · 0–1
The second win over world No. 1 Topalov days later at Essent 2006, this time as Black in the Nimzo-Indian — completing a rare double over the reigning No. 1.
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Polgar – Guseinov · 2011 · 1–0
Judit's own pick as her best endgame — a Maróczy Bind squeeze converted in a bishop ending at the 2011 European Championship, where she finished equal first among 167 grandmasters.
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