The Queen of Chess – An Exclusive Evening with Judit Polgár

Judit Polgár is widely regarded as the strongest female chess player of all time and the only woman to have broken into the world’s top 10, reaching a peak ranking of No. 8 and a rating above 2700. A former child prodigy and the youngest grandmaster in history at the time, she defeated numerous world champions including Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen. Renowned for her fearless, attackoriented style, Polgár exemplifies calculated risktaking, strategic foresight, and decisionmaking under uncertainty.

Péter Ács is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and former World Junior Chess Champion, who reached a peak world ranking of No. 72 and an Elo rating above 2600. Known for his deep analytical approach and strive for precision, he has represented Hungary in multiple Chess Olympiads and top international tournaments. Beyond chess, Péter worked for several years at Morgan Stanley in Risk Management, starting within the Data Strategy followed by the Stress Testing & Portfolio Risk teams, where his chess driven skills in scenario analysis, and long-term risk control proved highly relevant to the risk management profession.

Dániel Mayer is the Head of Morgan Stanley in Budapest, also the Head of Risk Management in Budapest, leading one of the firm’s largest global risk hubs with responsibility across market, credit, and regulatory risk functions. With over 15 years at the firm, he has played a key role in building and scaling Budapest’s risk organization into a globally integrated center of excellence. A strong advocate of analytical thinking, Dániel frequently draws parallels between chess strategy and risk management, emphasizing foresight, discipline, and decision making in uncertain environments.