Rebel Queen

Name: Rebel Queen
Brand: Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand
SKU: 9781538757291
Price: 60.0 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster

By Susan Polgar

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Brief Description

Born to a poor Jewish family in Cold War Budapest, Susan Polgar had the odds stacked against her—from having few resources to growing up in a sexist culture rife with vicious anti-Semitism. Yet her father subscribed to the belief that geniuses are not born, but created,... Read More

Format: Hardback

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A real life Queen's Gambit, this captivating memoir tells the story of one of the most renowned women in chess history, Susan Polgar, taking on a sexist establishment, standing up to an authoritarian empire and rewriting the rules of what women could achieve against the oppressive backdrop of Cold War Eastern Europe.

Description

At age 4, she won her first tournament. By 15, she was the top-rated female player in the world. She was the first woman ever to hold the men's Grandmaster title—chess' highest designation. The ensuing wins and accolades provided incredible highs to coincide with extreme lows as Polgar's celebrity brought backlash, including sabotage and state-sponsored intimidation.

Rebel Queen is the memoir of her improbable rise, offering a rare behind-the-scenes chess story and featuring some of the game's most legendary characters. Yet it is a narrative that transcends chess, the story of a genius, treated from birth as a second-class citizen, who thrilled against all odds. It is an incredible underdog story told by the woman who actually lived it.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781538757291

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 03 April 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Grand Central Publishing

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 34.0mm

Width: 162.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 560g

Pages: 352

Collections

Biography & Memoir Education & Reference Non-Fiction Susan Polgar

About the Author

Hungarian-born Susan Polgar is one of the most decorated female chess players ever. In 1984, at age 15, she became the youngest ever to earn the world #1 ranking. In 1986, she made history by qualifying for the Men's World Championship but was not allowed to play due to her gender.

In 1991, she broke the gender barrier again by being the first female in history to earn the Men's Grandmaster title by norms and rating. She is the only player in history to earn all 6 of the world's most prestigious chess crowns (world chess triple-crown, individual and team Olympiad gold, and world #1 ranking).

In addition to her storied career, Polgar founded the Susan Polgar Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization to promote chess, with all its educational, social and competitive benefits throughout the U.S., for young people of all ages, especially girls. After her professional playing career, she became the only woman to coach a men's division I collegiate team (Texas Tech 2007-2012 and Webster University 2012-2021). Her teams in the past 10 years have won more world championships, national titles, and Olympiad medals than all other collegiate chess programs in the United States combined, including a record 7 consecutive final four championships, and 9 consecutive years as the #1 ranked team in the nation. She became the first player to ever play 1,131 consecutive games, winning 1,112 wins! She also broke the record for 326 simultaneous games played with 309 wins, and the highest winning percentage (96.93%). In 2019 she was inducted to the Chess Hall of Fame. Susan was the subject of a National Geographic documentary, entitled "My Brilliant Brain."