Judit Polgar

“I have no problem with other women, but if I had played against ladies there would be a huge gap between the two of us.”

“Being professional means 100% is not enough. Number one, two and three in my life was chess. The reality for women is, when a child comes into the picture, priorities change.”

“I love chess very much. I love the game, the challenges. I could motivate myself as I was curious about how to improve every game. In chess, it's very clear that if you make a mistake you are punished. If you play well, you win.”

“I had some superstitions when I was little. And a winning pen is always a good thing to have.”

“When I get back home, I want to spend as much time with my family as I can. I love just being at home and not having to rush off anywhere so on Saturday morning I might make a big breakfast with freshly-squeezed orange juice, yoghurt, eggs and bacon.”

“I met Bobby Fischer in 1993 when he moved to Europe. I have mixed feelings about it. He was an idol, but not a healthy minded man.”

“Whenever I speak to parents or to kids, I always encourage them that if they believe, if they do the work, if they are really dedicated, then they can do it. No matter whether they are a boy or a girl.”

“On the highest level, of course there's a lot of competitiveness and drive in the players. They really want to win. But it's normal that the players are also just friends. Even very close friends. Or rivals, but in a healthy way.”

“My father and mother are exceptional pedagogues who can motivate and tell it from all different angles. Later, chess for me became a sport, an art, a science, everything together. I was very focused on chess, and happy with that world.”

“There is no better training for chess than swimming. On a Friday evening I like to put in a good long session of breaststroke at the pool near where I live in Budapest with my husband, Gusztav, and my two children.”

“I think Hungarians should be more positive; many complain, but if they go to some countries, in South America, people are so poor, yet they are happy. It starts with you.”

“How you lose matters. Don't be afraid of losing - it paralyzes you.”

“I was happy that at home we were a closed circle and then we went out playing chess and saw the world. It's a very difficult life and you have to be very careful, especially the parents, who need to know the limits of what you can and can't do with your child.”

“I don't think I could ever say that I will never play again, because even if I felt I could never play in top-class tournaments again because I don't have time for the preparation, after a while you might one day think: 'maybe, maybe, maybe... why not?'”

“For me, learning chess was natural; with my sisters around me, I wanted to play.”

“Without work, talent is lost.”

“To become a professional, you have to train a lot, which I did from a very early age. Of course, it helps if your character is very competitive and you have patience and perseverance.”

“During most of my playing career, the performance gap between men and women was slowly narrowing. Federations began providing more coaching and competitions for girls and women.”

“And maybe some people do it too much, are too selfish and concentrated on chess. But I think that in all professions you can find a lot of people like that.”

“Being a professional chess player is not very family-friendly and I am away quite often playing tournaments, sometimes for 12 days at a time. I catch up with Gusztav every day on Skype and email but even though I miss them, I don't make a point of ringing the children every night.”