Judit POLGAR: “I ALWAYS KNEW THAT I WILL BE SUCCESSFUL”

She has two children and it could seem that she has no champion's ambitions anymore. But the housewife activity is not for the great chess player. “I just can't live without chess”, - says Judit. – “I will do my best to be among the strongest again”.

At the World Cup 2009 Judit Polgar started her performance at the second round; her opponent could not come due to his illness.

•  I am glad to get an opportunity to have some rest after the trip, for acclimatization and to get some energy, - says Judit. – This was very important before the game against the best Romanian chess players Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu.

•  Are you usually nervous before a game?

•  It depends on my preparations. I think that it is somehow good to be nervous before a game. To my mind if you are not nervous - you don't care that much on the result.

•  Who was helping you to prepare for the Cup?

•  I don't have permanent coaches, but there are people who help me. For instance, it is Lev Psahis, we have been working since long time ago. Plus, my husband always accompanies me at the tournaments. He is not that good in chess than in his profession, he is an animal doctor. On the other hand, he always supports me morally. Perhaps this is the most important. He likes to watch my games keeping his fingers crossed.

•  We know that you were temporary out of big sport and took care of the family. What made you come back?

•  I cannot live without chess! It is an integral part of my life. I enjoy the game!

•  Is it difficult to be successful in life and in chess?

•  Extremely difficult! You should be good mother, good wife, and good professional too. To be the best in all! Every day!

I had to give up chess for some period. When my son was born, it became clear that children are the most important out of all. So, chess has disappeared from my life for some period. But later I wanted to play again and I have been trying since last couple of years very hard to come back and to become the best again. I am concentrating on chess and trying to work more… I have a lot of ambitions, just difficult to realize them.

•  And chess has changed a bit…

•  To play well, you should always develop! It is not only a game, it is a constant fight. With years it becomes more aggressive and tougher. This new young generation are well-trained by the special chess computer programs and are aimed to only win. It is becoming more difficult to win them.

•  A lot of people try to become the best, working hard, but only few could have a success. Why?

•  It is not that easy to constantly fight against yourself, only few could stand up the rhythm. Besides, it is not enough to only train chess. The most important is how you train. To work on chess is not enough. You should care about the quality of your work. Moreover you should like what you do. If you don't, there are no chances that you get good results.

•  Do you follow the women's chess?

•  Yes, I follow some women's tournaments and from time to time I participate in them. Women's chess develops very fast, female chess players become stronger and stronger. But anyway there is a big chasm between men and women players. I believe here goes the attitude to what you do. Comparatively few women chess players work on their professionalism, hire coaches, and use the computer base… Perhaps there will be good changes in future. But for the moment professional woman chess player is an unusual phenomenon.

•  Did you teach your children chess?

•  No, they just like to play with pieces. No one will be surprised if I say that my father promotes this. I hope in future they will like to play chess, but I don't think that they will follow my path. I just don't have this fanatic energy which their grandfather had.

•  So, Polgar the father is not eager to grow up another generation of chess champions?

•  Maybe he is. The question is if children and their parents want this. Children take a grandfather a bit differently than parents. And my husband is not delighted that his children will follow my way. He knows well how hard our profession is. Though every profession is hard if to take it professionally.

•  What do your sisters do now in life?

•  Sofia lives in Israel now. She likes art, paintings. And she teaches chess via Internet. Susan is a co-chairperson of FIDE Women's chess committee. She likes it. I try to stay away from politics in general and chess politics in particular.

•  Did your father teach three of you using one system?

•  The principle of his system was very simple: you should concentrate on what you do. In our case it was chess. For instance, we did not go to school, we just had to pass examinations. Sometimes he used a trial method. With time, the situation changed, my parents found something new and tried not to make the same mistakes towards Sofia and me. I must add that the most important was that my father was very confident that his children will have a success. And he taught me how to become confident.

•  What if your father would teach you something different, let's say, music or art? Do you think he will be also successful in it?

•  It is difficult question. I think if you work hard you could have a success in all you do. And you should love what you do. I was lucky that he taught me chess.

•  Are you famous in Hungary?

•  Yes, sometimes they recognize me. It started in 1988 when our team won the Olympiad. Though in general chess in Hungary is not that famous. People think they are not smart enough to start learning chess. That is why I excluded chess diagrams from the book about me which has been published in Hungary.

•  Do they buy your book?

•  Yes, I could not even expect that it will raise such an interest. I may say that with publication of my book I became more popular.

•  So, you are also a writer now? Do you have another hobby?

•  No needlework, - laughs Judit. – I almost don't have free time. If I have, I spend it with my children. Also, I try to keep a good physical shape.

•  You jog?