by Tibor Karolyi, 288pp. (Batsford 2004)

The chess world acknowledges that Judit Polgar is unique. She is a woman who competes on equal terms with the world’s best men, defeating even the world number one Garry Kasparov. In this book, Tibor Károlyi analyses in depth a large selection of Judit’s exciting games (89 deeply annotated games) taken from all stages of her career and filled to the brim with neat tactics and attacks on the king. She is the product of a family driven by chess and from an early age was groomed for success. The book covers Judit’s early childhood when her father and two sisters all contributed greatly to the development of her chess skills. Having trained with both of Judit’s sisters, Zsuzsa and Sofia, the author experienced first-hand the parents’ innovative methods of education and their creation of a world-class chess grandmaster.