In the recent interview to Dina Belenkaya Judit Polgar revealed the total dedication her parents showed to create three chess prodigies during a discussion about the famous Polgar experiment. The Hungarian GM explained the unique family setup required both parents working as teachers, managers, and organizers for decades without holidays or breaks.

Judit Polgar

Judit Polgar

Hungarian GM, strongest female chess player

My parents, they gave up their jobs completely. And when I started to have my family, my kids, when they were four or five, and it was a question whether it’s homeschooling or specializing. First of all, you need two persons for that, right? I mean, there is nothing more important than for the parents to agree and very much to go on the same path they think.

The Polgar sisters - Susan, Sofia, and Judit - were homeschooled and specialized in chess from early childhood, with all three becoming GMs. Their father Laszlo believed geniuses are made through environment and education rather than genetics. The experiment took place in Hungary during the 1970s and 1980s when such dedication could break families out of modest living conditions.