McDermott Library's ChessFest III To Feature Top Female Chess Player

RICHARDSON, Texas (Jan. 26, 2004) — Susan Polgar, the first woman to break the gender barrier and earn the highest title in the international world of chess (grandmaster), will present a special guest lecture during ChessFest III at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

The lecture, which will be free and open to the public, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the McDermott Library Auditorium (MC 2.41) on the UTD campus. The Galerstein Women’s Center, located on the first floor of the library, will hold a reception for Polgar following the lecture.

ChessFest was organized by the McDermott Library three years ago to honor the university’s top-ranked chess team and program.

“Susan Polgar is one of the most famous chess players in the world today,” said Dr. Tim Redman, professor of literary studies at UTD and founder and director of the university’s nationally acclaimed chess program.   “This is a special occasion for our program and for chess enthusiasts in the North Texas area. We appreciate the McDermott Library’s interest in the chess program and the Women’s Center’s decision to take an active role in this year’s ChessFest lecture.”

Last month, the UTD chess team earned its first outright national collegiate chess championship by winning the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship over more than 30 other teams from throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Polgar was the first woman to receive the Grandmaster of the Year Award (2003) and the first woman to become the U.S. Open Blitz Champion (2003).   She was also the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship Zonal Tournament.

She is a four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and the only World Champion (male or female) to win the Triple Crown in Chess — Rapid, Blitz and Traditional Time Control.   A member of the 2004 U.S. Women’s Olympic Chess team, she is a three-time Olympic champion with three gold, two silver and one bronze medal.

Polgar was the No. 1-ranked woman chess player in the world at age 15.   She has been ranked in the top three in the world for 19 consecutive years.

She also is an award-winning and best-selling chess author.   In 2003, she received the Cramer Award for Best Chess Column of the Year, the Chess Journalists of America Award for Best Magazine Column and the Chess Journalists of America Award for Best Endgame Analysis.

Polgar is an advocate for women’s chess and scholastic chess. She established the Susan Polgar Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps promote chess for women and youth in America.   A native of Hungary, Polgar now resides in New York State.

“The McDermott Library recognized a few years ago that our chess program would become UTD’s signature entity that would compete on the highest intercollegiate level,” said Director of Libraries Dr. Larry D. Sall.   “This competitive scholastic endeavor has been embraced by our university administration and created considerable goodwill and publicity.   ChessFest has become a tradition, and the library is proud to have been a partner in establishing the annual spring event.”

ChessFest III also will include a “Challenge the Champions” session in the McDermott Library lobby in which all comers will be welcome to play chess against members of the UTD team and chess club. The event will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10.   Team members frequently play three or four challengers simultaneously. Everyone is invited to step up to the table and challenge a UTD champion!

About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls about 13,700 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.