“Susan Polgar’s journey from the depths of Cold War Hungary to the highest reaches of professional chess is as riveting as it is inspiring . . . This is no mere memoir. Rebel Queen is the origin story of a real-life superhero.” —Gal Gadot

For Susan Polgar, who became one of the most prominent women in the history of chess, growing up in Hungary during the Cold War meant living within the constraints of an authoritarian regime and a sexist society. However, these were barriers that, instead of being confined by, she fought against and ultimately freed herself from. The story of Polgar’s rebellion against these obstacles is a fascinating one, which she tells with inspiring clarity in her autobiography, Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster.

Polgar won her first tournament at the age of four at the Budapest Championship for girls 11 and under. Her score was a perfect 10-0, and she accomplished it while sitting on a stack of telephone books so she could see the board. The skill and tenacity she exhibited at that first tournament served her again and again as she faced obstacles not only in the male-dominated world of chess, but in all aspects of her life. Being female and Jewish, Polgar met with sexism, anti-Semitism, and government hostility. 

Despite the inequities, Polgar became the first woman to qualify for the men’s World Chess Championship cycle when she was only a teenager. At the age of 21, she became the first woman in the world to earn the men’s Grandmaster title, which is the highest designation in chess. Making history again, she later became the first chess player of either sex to achieve “triple crown.” This means Polgar held world championship titles in all three chess time formats: blitz, rapid, and classical. On top of all of this, she continues to be the only player to earn all six of the world’s greatest chess crowns: triple crown, world #1 ranking, and individual and team Olympiad gold. 

Polgar is now an American citizen, having left Hungary to begin a new life in the United States. After retiring as a player, she became the only female Division 1 college coach in the country. She built two separate college chess dynasties from scratch:  one at Texas Tech in Lubbock and one at Webster University in St. Louis. She led both to more national titles, world championships, major titles, and Olympiad medals than all other college chess teams combined. She remains the Director Emeritus of, and advisor to, the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) at Webster University.