László Polgár
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László Polgár (born 1946) is a Hungarian chess teacher and father of the famous "Polgár sisters": Zsuzsa (Susan), Zsófia (Sofia), and Judit. He authored well-known chess books such as Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games and Reform Chess, a survey of chess variants.
Although he himself is a modest chess player, Polgár is an expert on chess theory, owning over 10,000 books about chess. He is interested in the proper method of rearing children, believing that "geniuses are made, not born". Before he had any children, he wrote a book entitled Bring Up Genius!, and asked for a wife who would help him carry out the experiment. He found one in Klara, a schoolteacher, who lived in a Hungarian speaking enclave in the Ukraine. He married her in the USSR and brought her to Hungary. They have three daughters. He homeschooled his three daughters, primarily in chess, and all three went on to become strong players. An early result was Susan winning the Budapest Chess Championship for girls under 11 at the age of four.
Polgár's only second language is Esperanto.
[edit] Published works
- Nevelj zsenit! (Bring Up Genius!), 1989 (ISBN 9630199769)
- Minichess, 1995 (ISBN 9634508057)
- Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games, 1994 (ISBN 1884822312)
- Chess: Reform Chess, 1997 (ISBN 3895082260)
- Chess: Middlegames, 1998 (ISBN 3895086835)
- Chess: Endgames, 1999 (ISBN 3829005075)
- Királynők és királyok. Sakk, Szerelem, Szex, 2004 (ISBN 9632160088)
- Salom haver: Zsidó származású magyar sakkozók antológiája, 2004 (ISBN 9632145704)
- PeCHESS ember elCHESSte, 2004 (ISBN 9638653116)
- Polgar Superstar Chess, 2004 (ISBN 9632160096)
- Polgar Superstar Chess II, 2005 (ISBN 9638653140)
- I Love Superstar Chess, 2005 (ISBN 9638673850)
- Hatágú csillag. Sakk, képzőművészet és humor, 2005 (ISBN 9638653159)
- Biztonság. Sakk és humor, 2005 (ISBN 9638653191)
- Knight, 2005 (ISBN 9638673826)
- Queens, 2005 (ISBN 963867380X)
- Blanka: Miniaturaj ŝakproblemoj (White: Miniature chess problems), 2005 (ISBN 9638653175)
- Sakkmat(t)ek. Sakk, matematika, humor, 2005 (ISBN 9638653167)
- Eszperantó és sakk (Chess in Esperanto), 2006 (ISBN 9638673877)
- La stelita stel', 2006 (ISBN 9638704209)
[edit] External links and references
- The Economist: Who wants to be a genius?
- Psychology Today: The Grandmaster Experiment
- Telegraph: Queen takes all
- Eduku geniulon! Web page about the Esperanto translation of Nevelj zsenit!