Hungarians: Judit Polgár

One of the thousands of cool things about Hungarians is that they are chess maniacs. And the best player in the country is Judit Polgár - the greatest female chess player of all time.

Greatest woman chess player of all time? Indubitably. I know this is a fact because it is plastered all over her home page banner:

POLGAR JUDIT - The greatest woman chess player of all time - OFFICIAL WEBSITE

In case you overlook the claim of greatness on the banner when visiting her website, you don't have to delve very deep to learn more about this self-appointed Reine d'Echeques. A glance at her bio page reviews the accomplishments of this high-IQ hottie in terms that know no modesty:

"I have been the world’s No. 1 woman chess player for nearly 20 years straight, since 1989. Among men, I was ranked 8th in 2005. I was awarded the Chess Oscar seven times, and was elected Woman Chess Player of the Century."

Well, why not. When you've got it flaunt it.

In 1991, at the age of 15, Polgár became a grandmaster - the youngest in recorded history at that time. As a member of the Hungarian Men's team she won a silver medal in the 2002 Olympics, which compliments the two gold Women's Team medals she has displayed on the mantle of her nagyon fantasztikus 400 sq. meter Kodály Körönd apartment.

Her high-water mark in world chess came when she almost beat world champion Garry Kasparov at a 1994 tournament in Spain. She would have won but Kasparov cheated. On move 37, he made a bonehead play and then took his hand off the piece. Once his hand let go of the knight, the move should have counted; however, the officials either didn't see the gaffe or were too intimidated by his stature to force the issue. Polgár magnanimously let Kasparov replay the move, which saved the game for him. And so the path of history played out as metaphor on the black and white squares yet again as the cunning Russian stabbed the good Hungarian in the back. And a Hungarian woman, no less!

But Kasparov has marched in the streets of Moscow for democracy, so he gets a pass. Any guy who has been jailed by Putin can't be all bad. And anyway Polgár made up for this robbery in later years by beating every old warhorse the Russians could put in front of her - Spassky, Karpov, Topalov, the whole mob.

Enough about those old coots. This page is about Judit Polgár. I like the fact that she devotes a lot of time to teaching kids the fun and the challenge of the game she loves. I like that she puts her family first. And I find it too cool that the most beautiful female celebrity in Hungary is not a movie star or athlete, but a chess player. That's such a backwards state of things that it could only happen in Hungary.

In addition to being very good at chess and very cute, she also has managed to domesticate a real live lion and a dolphin, both of which she keeps as pets. Everyone loves Judit Polgár!