The people behind the game
Susan Polgar
A pioneer in open competition who won the women’s world championship in a match against Xie Jun.
- Born
- 1969
- Country connections
- Hungary / United States
At the board
The games. The ideas.
Explore classic encounters and championship battles. Play every move, or jump straight to the moments that tell the story.
1996 · Women’s world championship · Game 13
Polgar closes in on the title
The thirteenth game of the 1996 championship. Polgar’s pieces become active in a queenless middlegame.
Read the position
Every move sets the scene.
Use the controls to explore the full game, or select an annotated moment below. Each explanation describes the position immediately after its highlighted move.
Complete move list 24 moves
The journey
A remarkable path.
Polgar reached the top of the women’s rating list in 1984 and became a grandmaster in 1991. She won the women’s world title from Xie Jun in 1996. Her later work has included coaching, writing and organizing chess education. [1]
Explore the championship record →The championship record
Time with the crown.
- 1996–1999Women’s world championship
Reigns are periods of title ownership, not a count of championship victories. Open-ended reigns reflect the record checked on 18 October 2026.
Sources & credits
Biographical details and title records checked . Country connections describe the player’s career and background, rather than a live federation listing.
Portrait: Ababinid · CC BY-SA 4.0. Displayed in monochrome and cropped.
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