Hungary's PM Magyar to ask chess champion Judit Polgar to become president

BUDAPEST, July 19 – Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday that he would ask Judit Polgar, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player of all time, to take up the largely ceremonial role of Hungary’s next President.

Magyar said in a Facebook post that Polgar, 49, could represent the nation’s unity, and that on Monday he would meet Polgar and ask her if she would accept the nomination.

The move comes a day after President Tamas Sulyok signed a constitutional amendment passed by Magyar’s ruling Tisza party that ends his term as head of state.

The legislation was part of Magyar’s drive to dismantle former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s bastions of power, for which Magyar says he received a strong mandate from voters after ousting the right-wing leader in an April election landslide.

Parliament, where Magyar’s party has a two-thirds majority that allows it to change any laws, will elect a new president who will be in office until a planned new constitution takes effect, or for a maximum of five years.

Judit Polgar and her two sisters – Zsuzsa (Susan) and Zsofia (Sofia) – along with Ildiko Madl won the 1988 Chess Olympiad for Hungary’s female team, ending Soviet dominance.

Judit Polgar played in tournaments against men and became one of the top players in a male-dominated sport. She is the most talented woman to have ever played the game and the only woman to have crossed the 2700-rating threshold that many consider the “Super GM” distinction.

In February, “Queen of Chess”, a documentary about Polgar, was released on Netflix.

“I will meet her tomorrow, and will ask whether she is ready to serve our country in a new role until the new constitution is passed,” Magyar wrote in a Facebook post.

“Judit Polgar’s name has been synonymous with talent and perseverance for decades.”

Polgar did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. REUTERS