Susan Polgar

Susan (Zsuzsa) Polgar is an Olympic chess champion, a chess coach and a teacher. Susan is head of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) at Texas Tech University. Susan was born on April 19, 1969 in Hungary. Susan is the oldest of three famous “Polgar” sisters, Zsuzsa, Zsófia, and Judit. Susan is famous for being the first female to earn the Grandmaster title during tournament play.

When she was 15, Susan became the top ranked woman chess player in the world. Susan remained in the top three for 23 years. In 1986, Susan was the first woman in history to qualify for the “Men’s” World Championship. Susan was the Women’s World Chess Champion from 1996 thru 1999. She has won ten Olympic medals and four world championships for chess.

Susan was signed as the head coach for the Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess team in 2007. In 2010 she led the men’s division team to the final four. In 2011 the Texas Tech Knight Raiders won the President’s Cup in college chess. She was the first woman to lead a men’s division to a national championship title.