Here are some chess puzzles from the games of Susan Polgar.
White to move and win except where noted.
Solutions are between the brackets under each puzzle.Drag your mouse from one bracket to the other.
a)
Polgar vs Circakov, Targoviste, 1981
[ Bg5 if Nf6 Qd4 ]
b)
Polgar vs Slobodan Kovacevic, Budapest, 1981
[ Rxe7 if Qxe7 Nxg6+ or if Rxf4 Qc3+ ]
c)
White Mates in 7. Polgar vs Krastjo Dimitrov, Targoviste, 1984
[ Qxg6+ Rg7 Rxh7 Nf6 Bxf6 Qxf6 Qxe8+ ]
d)
White Mates in 4. Polgar vs Peter Hardicsay, Hungary, 1985
[ Qxb8 Bc8 Ne4 Qxe7 Qxc8+ Qe8 Nf6# ]
e)
White Mates in 4. Polgar vs Peter Jamieson, Adelaide, 1986
[ Bc6+ ]
Susan Polgar Puzzles, Part II. White to move and win except where noted.
a)
White Mates in 4. Polgar vs Nikola Spiridonov, Albena, 1986
[ Nxf6+ ]
b)
Black to move and win. Branimir Vujic vs Polgar, Panonija, 1981
[ ...R8d2+ if Nxd2 Qxg3+ mates; if Ke3 Qh6+ mates; if Kg1 Nxg3 ]
c)
Black mates in 5. Smirnov vs Polgar, Televen, 1981
[ ...Qh2+ Kxh2 Rxh3+ Kg1 Rbh8 ]
d)
Polgar vs Ralf Lau, Polanica Zdroj, 1991
[ Bxg6 Nxg6 Nxh5+ Kh8 Nf6 Rg8 Nxg8 ]
e)
Polgar vs Miodrag Todorcevic, Pamplona, 1991
[ Qxf5 Bxe6 (if Rxf5 Re8+ Rf8 Bxf8 Bxg4 Bc5+ Bf8 Bxa7) Qxe6 Qf2 Bxf8 Qxf8 Rxc4 ]
Susan Polgar Puzzles, Part III. White to move and win except where noted.
a)
Black Mates in 6. Lajos Portisch vs Polgar, Hungary, 1991
[ ...Qxf1+ Bxf1 Nf2+ Kg1 Nf3+ Kg2 Nh3+ Be2 Rxe2+ Kxh3 Rxh2+ ]
b)
Polgar vs Cristina Adela Foisor, Tilburg, 1994
[ Nf6 if Bxf6 Qxh6+ wins the rook ]
c)
Black Mates in 8. Alisa Maric vs Polgar, Tilburg, 1994
[ ...Nf3+ Kh1 Rh4 h3 Qd6 ]
d)
Black to move and win.
Yadira Hernandez-Guerrero vs Polgar, Moscow olw CUB-HUN 1994
[ ...Qxg3 hxg3 Nf3+ Rh2 Nxd2 ]
e)
Polgar vs Petter Stigar, Copenhagen, 1986
r4rk1/p2p1ppp/1p2p2q/2pPP3/2Q2N2/P1P3P1/5P1P/n1B2RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Nxe6 Qg6 Nxf8 Rxf8 Bg2 w/Rc1 ]
Susan Polgar Puzzles, Part IV. White to move and win.
a)
Polgar vs Vladislav Bliumberg, Brocco, 1987
1rb2r2/5pbk/1nP3pp/1p1Pp3/5P1q/6NP/3QBBP1/2R2RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Nh5 Qe7 Nxg7 if Kxg7 Bc5 ]
b)
Polgar vs Jay Whitehead, New York, 1987
6k1/3n1p1p/r1n3p1/pNQ5/P4P2/3qr1PP/1R4BK/5R2 w - - 0 1
[ Qc1 if Rxg3 or Nf6 Rd1 ]
c)
Polgar vs Antti Pyhala, Haifa, 1989
3q4/r1Nr1pkp/pp1Ppnp1/3bQ3/3R4/5N2/PP3PPP/2R3K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rf4 if Bxf3 Qxf6+ Qxf6 Ne8+ ]
d)
Polgar vs Nick De Firmian, New York, 1989
6k1/3bbr1p/p2p4/Pp1P2P1/3BPP1p/1p6/q2Q1N1K/2R5 w - - 0 1
[ Bb2 w/Ra1 ]
e)
Polgar vs Vasilios Kotronias, Corfu, 1990
8/5r1k/1p1p3P/p1pP1p2/P1P3Np/KP5P/1B3pq1/1B2R3 w - - 0 1
[ Bxf5+ Rxf5 Re7+ Rf7 Rxf7+ Kg6 Rg7+ w/Ne3+ ]
Susan Polgar Puzzles, Part V. White to move and win except where noted.
a)
Polgar vs Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Dortmund, 1990
1kn2b1r/1n6/2R2p2/1PP1p2p/2N1P3/4B2r/2K2P2/R7 w - - 0 1
[ Ra8+ Kxa8 Rxc8+ Ka7 c6+ ]
b)
White Mates in 7. Polgar vs Leonid Yudasin, Munich, 1991
3r2k1/p1q2p1p/1p3Q2/5B1b/4N3/PP5P/2p3P1/4R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Qh6 if Bg6 Nf6+ Kh8 Ne8 ]
c)
Polgar vs Efim Geller, Aruba, 1992
r1r3k1/1b1n1ppp/p1q1pb2/P3B2n/Np2P3/3B1N2/1P2QPPP/R2R2K1 w - - 0 1
[ Nd4 ]
d)
Polgar vs Wolfgang Uhlmann, Aruba, 1992
r7/p2b1N2/n2Pk2p/2p3p1/2p3P1/P5KP/2B5/5R2 w - - 0 1
[ Bf5+ Kxf7 Bxd7+ Kg7 Bb5 ]
e)
Polgar vs Anatoly Karpov, Monte Carlo, 1994
2r2nk1/pb2qpb1/1p2p1p1/3r3p/2NP1B2/2PB3P/P3QPP1/2R1R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Be4 if Rd8 Bxb7 Qxb7 Nd6 ]
f)
Polgar vs Gert Timmerman, Netherlands, 1995
b5rk/2RQ2bp/1p2p1p1/p2p4/P2q1PNP/1P4P1/6B1/7K w - - 0 1
[ Nh6 Rf8 Nf7+ if Kg8 Ne5 ]
Blog posts that contain Susan Polgar over the last 30 days.
Get your own chart!
Can't see the solutions?...Click here.
Buy "Breaking Through" by Susan Polgar
Women World Chess Champions
Other Top Women GMs
More US GMs
More Hungarian GMs
Back to the Index