Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Those Magnificent Polgar Girls

The story of the Polgar girls is an inspirational one for anyone who believes in nurture over nature (as I do).  Laszlo Polgar raised three daughters; Susan, Sofia and Judit, who all have gone on to achieve amazing success in the field of chess.

Before the girls were even born Laszlo wanted to set about proving that anyone could become a champion, that all have extraordinary potential given half the chance.  To demonstrate this he chose to have his children focus on chess from a very young age (Susan was four, Judit and Sofia were five).  Chess was chosen because ability can be measured objectively; your ranking and stature is based on how many games you win and lose. 

Despite being no real expert chess player himself, Laszlo created an environment for the three girls that enabled them to play a considerable amount of chess, whilst ensuring that the girls developed a love for and an enjoyment of the game.

Through hard work, a supportive environment, and belief in human potential, Laszlo Polgar has been able to prove that anyone can on to achieve extraordinary success.  There was no natural or hereditary talent that his girls were born with.  However, what they were born with was a family that believed that they could go on to become great in a field in which they applied themselves to.  

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