Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar found himself facing one of the toughest opponents imaginable during a reception at the Embassy of the United States in Budapest celebrating the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
Among the guests was chess legend Judit Polgár, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player in history. The eight-time Chess Olympiad champion and recipient of Hungary’s highest state honour, the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, sat down for a friendly game with the prime minister.
Watching the match from nearby was none other than renowned Hungarian inventor Ernő Rubik.
“I realised I was about to be checkmated”
Sharing the moment on Facebook, Magyar joked that he quickly realised how the game was going.
“The moment I realise I’m about to be checkmated by Judit Polgár in just a few moves.”
The prime minister added that he generally enjoys winning (whether in politics, sport or the popular Hungarian card game Ulti), but admitted he had not set high expectations before sitting down opposite Polgár.
“Even so, it was an incredible experience,” he wrote, adding a laughing emoji to the post.
A photograph of the game was also shared on social media by linguist Szilárd Szentgyörgyi, capturing the unusual scene of Hungary’s prime minister challenging one of the country’s greatest sporting icons while Rubik looked on:
If you missed it: Documentary on Hungarian chess genius Judit Polgár premieres at US film festival and arrives on Netflix
