Magyar taps chess grandmaster Polgar to replace ousted Hungarian president

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar will meet former chess champion Judit Polgar on Monday to ask her to serve as the country's next president. The nomination follows a constitutional amendment passed last week by lawmakers that removed sitting president Tamas Sulyok from office.

Sulyok's last day in office was Sunday, with parliament speaker Agnes Forsthoffer temporarily assuming the duties of head of state. Lawmakers now have exactly 30 days to elect a successor. This swift overhaul of the presidency is a defining early test of Magyar's commitment to reshaping Hungarian public life after 16 years of Viktor Orban's deeply polarizing rule.

For European investors and institutions watching Budapest, the manner of this transition matters as much as the outcome. Magyar won a landslide April election on a pledge of "regime change," accusing the unpopular Sulyok of being a "puppet" of the former premier. However, Human Rights Watch stated the legislative move was "reminiscent of (the) Fidesz era," suggesting the new government is adopting the same aggressive institutional tools it once criticised.

Against this contentious backdrop, Polgar is an unconventional but strategic choice to project stability. "Our country needs unity, peace and a president of whom all Hungarians can be proud," Magyar said on Facebook. She is a historic figure who largely transcends the country's modern political divides.

Turning 50 in the coming days, Polgar retired in 2014 after 25 years as the world's top-ranked female player. She is the only woman to ever cross the 2700-rating threshold that earns the "Super GM" distinction. Her global status was cemented in 1988 when she and her sisters Zsuzsa and Zsofia, alongside Ildiko Madl, won the Chess Olympiad for Hungary, ending Soviet dominance.

By choosing a globally recognised sports icon who built her career competing against men in a male-dominated sport, Magyar is attempting to signal a clean break from partisan warfare. Whether Polgar accepts the role remains to be seen. If she does, she will be tasked with serving as a unifying head of state for a nation still navigating a profound political shift.