So the Queen’s Gambit is a great TV series. And Beth Harmon is one hell of a fictional character.

But I think her real life equivalent is even more interesting.

Judit Polgar isn’t just the greatest female chess player of all time, she’s the only woman to bust into the global top 10 FIDE chess rankings and beat the world’s best.

That’s right, Judit Polgar beat Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Magnus Carlsen, and so many others. She’s beaten 11 current and former champions, in fact.

What’s further amazing is that Judit Polgar actually broke Bobby Fischer’s record of becoming the youngest grandmaster of all time. Which she accomplished at the age of 15.

She is the first girl in chess history to have won the boy’s junior world championships—and she did it twice!

Judit reached the stunning height of a 2735 ELO peak rating—an unimaginable accomplishment for most chess players.

While she was beating everyone, she took the time to write several books about chess for young girls to encourage them to start playing the game.

She’s retired now from international chess competition. But what does she do now? She is the coach of the Hungarian men’s chess team.

In 2021, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame. And I can’t think of anyone more deserving. What a legend!