It’s been two decades since Judit Polgar shattered chess’ glass ceiling by entering the world’s top 10 ranks. It’s a feat so remarkable that no female player has come close to repeating it since. But now, the Hungarian believes that the ‘next Judit Polgar’ is likely to come from India.
“I believe that the next ‘me’ should be coming from India,” Polgar told The Indian Express in an interview. “The reason is not only because there are many talents in India. You have talents everywhere in the world, be it Hungary, Russia, France. But the question is, how are you nurturing the talent?
“What are the work ethics of the players and what kind of coaches do you have locally? What is the environment that (these players grow up in). Competition makes people get better and better and in some countries, you have no competition. If you don’t have competition, there is no energy which pulls you up and makes you work harder and compete. This environment exists in India! That’s why I believe that there are great chances that the next me will come from India.”
Polgar’s pathbreaking career — the focus of a new documentary called The Queen of Chess — opened many doors for female chess players. She was a firebrand of a grandmaster, fuelled partially by male scepticism about her abilities. She had the backing of her parents and sisters, Sofia and Susan, who also went on to have great careers.
Polgar not only went on to break Bobby Fischer’s record as the youngest grandmaster in chess history, but also defeated 11 world champions, including Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand.
But since Polgar’s retirement, not many female players opt to play many open tournaments like she did. The exceptions to this include India’s Divya Deshmukh — who recently competed in the challengers section of the Prague Masters and was a regular feature in open events such as the FIDE World Cup and the FIDE Grand Swiss last year — and Bengaluru-based Charvi Anilkumar.
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Polgar says she’s particularly impressed by the courage shown by Divya last year. The Indian grandmaster caught Polgar’s eye at the Wijk aan Zee tournament a couple of years ago, when the teenaged Indian offered up her rook as a sacrifice in a game. And while Divya did not end up winning the game, Polgar made a mental note of the Indian star.
“Divya is quite impressive. I remember that game at Wijk aan Zee. Somehow, she misplayed the game after the rook sacrifice, but it was a fantastic idea. I don’t know how much (about) preparation it was, maybe partly, but that was still pretty impressive. That was the first moment when I noticed her chess,” she said.
Taking the tough route
She gushes about Divya’s decision in 2025 to play in the open section at the Grand Swiss and the World Cup. At the Grand Swiss, Divya was one of only two women in the whole event.
Divya Deshmukh’s triumph in Georgia, where she defeated the legendary Grandmaster and compatriot Koneru Humpy — twice her age — in the summit clash, made her the youngest-ever Women’s World Cup winner at just 19.(Photo credit: Anna Shtourman/FIDE)
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“She’s a great fighter, has a good mindset and this inner drive. She wants to show it to the guys. I was very proud of her when she picked her opportunity playing in the open section of the Grand Swiss. She could have played in the ladies competition. Yet she chose to play in the open section. That was the right decision for her even though it’s a tougher event,” the Hungarian said.
“I didn’t see any reason why she should be playing in the ladies section. She should challenge herself. She not only made a draw with Gukesh, but was also playing pretty balanced with other grandmasters, giving some of them a hard time. I hope she will choose to play more in the open section. She’s a great candidate to become world champion.”
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Polgar also points to young players like 11-year-old Charvi and 10-year-old Sharvaanica AS (who is trained by Gukesh’s former coach Vishnu Prasanna) as prodigies whose talent she is impressed by.
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“I have a friend in India who told me about Sharvaanica. She is pretty good and young,” Polgar said.
She then recounts a tale from the 2022 Olympiad when she was in Chennai for commentary and had invited Charvi to her broadcast.
“Back then, I had made Charvi promise me that she’s not going to the ladies competition, but she will go all the way (in the open section). We’ll see what happens. But that was nice,” she added.
