Hungarian chess legend Judit Polgár has said she will not accept a nomination for president, the day after the new prime minister, Péter Magyar, said he would ask her to take up the largely ceremonial role.
Announcing his intention to select Polgár on Monday, Magyar said Hungary “needs unity, peace and a president all Hungarians can be proud of”, and that her name “has been synonymous with talent and perseverance for decades”.
Polgár, who was born to Jewish-Hungarian family in Budapest, said in a Facebook post she was grateful to be asked but added: “I do not feel enough strength within me to take on the historic responsibility of uniting a divided nation, so I am unable to accept the request.
“I will do everything in my power to support a new, independent, and respected President of the Republic in achieving these goals.”
Polgár would have replaced former president Tamás Sulyok, after Magyar forced him from office, accusing him of being a “puppet” of his predecessor as prime minister, Viktor Orbán, whom Magyar defeated in a landslide election victory in April.
Reacting to Polgár’s decision to decline the position, Magyar wrote on social media: “I am sorry, but I respectfully accept her decision. Thank you to her for taking the request seriously!
"Thank you for her openness, her straightforward speech, and the dignity with which she handled this situation.”
Polgár, who turns 50 this week, is the subject of the documentary Queen of Chess, which was released in February.
As the greatest female chess player of all time, she remains the only woman ever to have been ranked among the world’s top 10 players and the only woman in history to surpass the 2700 Elo rating mark, reaching a peak of 2735.
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