One of the most challenging games out there is chess. Although it does not require a lot of physical movement, it does require a lot of cognitive skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving. For this Mother's Day, we would love to shout out to our incredible female chess players, who have been known to be the mothers of chess or have impacted chess history for the better. Here we have compiled a list of the top 5 female chess players of all time. 

5) Vera Menchik 

Vera Menchik was the first recognized World Women's Chess Champion after winning in 1927, she successfully defended that title six times - winning every championship until her death in 1944. Menchik is also known as the first true superstar of women's chess. She was the face of the emerging chess horizons for women. 

4) Susan Polgar 

A pioneer in the world of women’s chess. Polgar is an American chess player born in Hungary. She was the first ever woman who qualified for the participation in the World Championship cycle in 1986 though she was stopped on pretext of her gender. In 1996, she won the 1st world title. By 15 years old, she became the top-ranked women chess player in the world. Currently, she is the chief of Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Webster University.

3) Xie Jun 

Xia Jun was the first player from Asia to become women’s world chess champion. In the year 1991, Xie defeated Maya Chiburdanidze and ended a 41-year Soviet stranglehold on the title of Women’s World Chess Champion. She kept the title to her until 1996 when Susan Polgar claimed the title defeating her. Xia Jun represented China in eight Women’s Olympiads, winning seven team medals (three gold, one silver, and three bronze) and five individual medals (two silver and three bronze).

2) Maia Chiburdanidze 

Maia Chiburdanidze is a Georgian chess grandmaster, and the seventh Women’s World Chess Champion. She is the only chess player in history who has won nine Chess Olympiads.  Chiburdanidze is one of the very few women who have won a top-class grandmaster tournament. It became clear that she was already one of the best female players in the world when she won her first Women’s World Chess Championship in 1978 by defeating the reigning champion, Nona Gaprindashvili.

1. Judit Polgar 

Judit Polgar is one of the strongest women chess players. Male or female, Polgar was touted as the best player of chess. In 2005, she finished the tournament at the 8th position at the FIDE World Chess Championship. In 1991, Polgar achieved the title of grandmaster at the age of 15 years, and at the same time the youngest to have done so, breaking the record previously held by Bobby Fischer. She is the only woman to be ranked in the top ten of all chess players, first reaching that ranking in 1996. She retired from competitive chess on August 14, 2014.