Susan Polgar's dream run and an absurd end

“It's not too late to back out” -Laszlo Polgar warned his daughter Susan as she set off for the airport, bound for Bejjing.

- Susan Ninan

It was October 1992 and Susan had decided to play the Women's Candidates tournament, much against her father’s will.For Susan, then in her early twenties, it was her first women’s event (other than the Olympiad). In1991, Susan had become the first female chess player to earn a Grandmaster title through the required number of tournament norms. Laszlo had trained his three daughters — Susan, Sofia and Judit, in the game, wanting them to focus on playing male players and staying out of women’s events for good. Susan ended up scoringa historic 9.5 points out of 10 in the ‘Women's Candidates.

It was the kind of crushing dominance Javokhir Sindarov has had over the Candidates this time, winning six of his first 10 games— the mostany player has won in the current format. He is on 9 points after 12 rounds.

Susan was accompanied to China by her grandmaster boyfriend as well as Danish grandmaster Bent Larson and his wife, Laura Benedini. The playing conditions in Shanghai came as a pleasant surprise to Susan. It was around the time China began taking women’s chess seriously with Xie Jun being the reigning women's world champion.