Queen's Move

A Life in Twelve Moves

The remarkable memoir of Judit Polgár, the greatest female chess player of all time – from her strict upbringing in communist-era Hungary to the heights of stardom in a male-dominated sport. Lea Ypi’s Free meets Billie Jean King’s All In.

This is the game I was born to win. Or lose.

As I lean over the board, the grid of black and white seems to flex and bend, and I feel myself being pulled into its vortex. It is as if everything I am and everything I will be is there, at the centre of the board, waiting for me to live it again, right from the beginning.

Born in communist-era Hungary, Judit’s father had unconventional beliefs about genius. Convinced genius was all nurture, no nature, and determined to prove his theory, he defied the state, the mainstream education system, and the world by moulding his three daughters into prodigies. Trained intensively by him, alongside her two older sisters in a small Budapest apartment, Judit made it her goal to fight her way to the top of the brutal, exclusively male world of elite chess. And what she achieved surprised her opponents, the chess community, and the world.

Queen’s Move is a deeply inspiring and gripping account of a unique life, and the power of determination to reach the heights of greatness.

PRAISE FOR JUDIT POLGÁR:

“She has redrawn the map of our brains with her talent and bravery. Thank you in the name of the present and future women of the world!”
— YOKO ONO, musician and artist

“All her activities are infused with a philosophy that couldn’t be more relevant and timely: chess connects us! She rises above competition and finds the common ground in playfulness, learning and togetherness.”
— ERNÖ RUBIK, inventor of the Rubik’s Cube

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