Judit Polgar Gets a Plus Score in the Men’s Olympiad

In the recent Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, Judit Polgar played in the Men’s Olympiad. The Women’s Olympiad is for women only. The Men’s Olympiad is not limited to men and is now called the Open Olympiad when you can find that term used. Judit Polgar has been ranked as high as number eight in the world and has long played in male events. She plays for the Hungarian team, which finished in fourth place after Ukraine, Russia 1, and Israel. In the eleven round event, she played ten games and scored four wins, four draws, and two losses (6-4).

In the game I selected from the Olympiad to show, Polgar played the black side of the Sicilian Defense. White played the Rossolimo Variation, which uses 3.Bb5. Polgar’s reply transposed to the Moscow Variation. In the notes the distinction is explained. I suggest that rather than study either one of these two variations, it is better to study them together whether it is done with books or databases. Rather than have a database for each, it is better to have one database with a name such as Sicilian Bb5 to include both.

Polgar’s handling of the game showed strategic comprehension backed by tactics that made this game my choice for this article.