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Woman Plays 1,100 Chess Games in 17 Hours

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 August 2005, 03:00 CDT

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- All hail the queen of chess. Former women's world champ Susan Polgar is believed to have broken four international chess records this week after playing more than 1,100 games over 17 hours.

The records, which still have to be confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records:

- Most games played at once. Polgar, 36, had 326 simultaneous games going on Monday afternoon. Of those, she won 309, drew 14 and lost three.

- Consecutive games played. When the chess marathon ended at 3 a.m. Tuesday, Polgar had played 1,131 consecutive games, said Barbara DeMaro, managing director of U.S. Chess Trust, an event sponsor.

- Highest number of wins in a marathon of this sort.

- Highest percentage of wins - 96.93 percent.

Polgar's opponents, who ranged in age from 4 to 95, sat before identical chess boards at long rows of tables at the Palm Beach Gardens mall. Polgar remained standing, walking from board to board.

She watched one person make a move, then moved her own piece, before taking a step to the next board. By 3 a.m., she had walked more than nine miles.

Polgar started playing at age 4 in her native Hungary and was ranked the top women's player in the world by age 15. She has won the women's title four times.

In 1986, she became the first woman to qualify for the Men's World Championship, and she earned the men's grandmaster title five years later.

She lives in New York City with her family.

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On the Net:

Susan Polgar: http://www.susanpolgar.com  

U.S. Chess Trust: http://www.uschess.org

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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