Hungary's new prime minister, Péter Magyar, announced on July 20, 2026, that he wants to ask chess champion Judit Polgár to become the country's next president. The position opened up after Hungary's parliament voted to change the constitution and end the term of the previous president, Tamás Sulyok. Magyar said he would meet Polgár on Monday, July 20, to discuss the role The Guardian.

This ends a months-long dispute between Magyar and Sulyok. Sulyok had been appointed president when Viktor Orbán was in power. Magyar won a large election victory in April 2026 and became prime minister in May. He repeatedly told Sulyok to step down, calling him an Orbán "puppet." Magyar's party, called Tisza, holds a two-thirds majority in parliament — meaning they have more than enough votes to change the country's constitution. Lawmakers voted to end Sulyok's term immediately. Sulyok had five days to sign the legislation into law. He signed it, ending his own presidency.

Magyar explained the choice on social media, saying: "Our country needs unity, peace and a president that all Hungarians can be proud of. Judit Polgár's name has been synonymous with talent and perseverance for decades" The Guardian. He said he would ask Polgár to serve only until a new constitution is passed, which means the role would be temporary rather than the usual maximum of five years.

The idea to nominate Polgár came from an open letter signed by 16 well-known Hungarians, including Ernő Rubik, the inventor of the Rubik's Cube. The presidency in Hungary is largely ceremonial — the president represents the country at official events but does not make laws or run the government. Magyar said these constitutional changes are needed to remove Orbán's remaining influence over Hungarian institutions. However, Human Rights Watch, an organization that monitors governments for abuses, warned that rushing through constitutional changes to remove a president was "reminiscent of the Fidesz era," meaning it reminded them of how Orbán's own party operated.

Parliament still has to vote on Polgár's appointment, but it is expected to pass easily because Tisza holds a two-thirds majority. No date for that vote has been set.

Polgár was born in Budapest and will turn 50 in late July 2026. She is widely considered the greatest female chess player ever. At age 15, she became the youngest grandmaster in the world, breaking a record set in 1958 by Bobby Fischer. She was the top-ranked female player for 25 years and retired from competitive chess in 2014. In 2002, she defeated Garry Kasparov, who was the world champion at the time, in a tournament game. Her story is told in the 2026 Netflix documentary Queen of Chess.

Polgár already has a history with the Hungarian state. She received the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, a high honor, from President János Áder on August 20, a national holiday (kormany.hu). She also lit the flame at the Maccabiah Games, a Jewish sporting event where Áder served as main patron (kormany.hu, 2019), and was recognized in the Hungarian Parliament for her first Chess Olympiad success (kormany.hu).

The broader picture is how fast and how forcefully this transition happened. Magyar's government used its large majority to change the constitution specifically to remove a sitting president, then got that president to sign the very law that ended his own term. People who support Magyar see this as taking apart the system Orbán left behind. Critics, including Human Rights Watch, see it as the same kind of constitutional power play that Orbán's party used when it was in charge. Choosing Polgár, who is famous nationwide and has no ties to any political party, lets Magyar appear to be uniting the country while also making sure the presidency is under his control. Whether Polgár will accept, and what conditions she might set, is still unknown.