Queen of Chess

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Queen of Chess

2026

1h 33m

Biography

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Hungarian chess prodigy Judit Polgár challenges champion Garry Kasparov and her controlling father over 15 years, breaking gender barriers to become the greatest female player ever.

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Sarah Dempster

Guardian

Feb 7

3/5

There is... the persistent sense that there’s more to Polgár’s story; that if only Emmy-winning director Rory Kennedy had been steadier with her magnifying glass the results might not feel so emotionally underdeveloped.

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John Anderson

Wall Street Journal

Feb 6

Ms. Kennedy does such an outstanding job of creating suspense out of what is now 30-year-old history... I don’t play chess. It didn’t matter.

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Alissa Wilkinson

New York Times

Feb 6

It’s a good story, well told, and Polgar makes for an interesting subject.

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Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

Mar 6

The film is structured a lot like a sports documentary, which it in some ways is, and it never quite reinvents the wheel of that format.

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Jayne Nelson

Radio Times

Feb 23

3/5

The focus of this fascinating documentary is Judit Polgár, who entered her first chess tournament at the age of six and went on to take the rarefied world of the game by storm, eventually rising to Grandmaster.

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Belen Prieto

Espinof

Feb 19

4/5

...although 'Queen of Chess' rightly celebrates an extraordinary career, it also leaves the feeling that, behind this champion, there is still a more complex story to be told. [Full review in Spanish]

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Aye E

@RT43717499 2d

If you love The Queen's Gambit you'll love this! It's so great to see a similar story in real life which is way more impressive (different background, country, and personality from the fictional story). I'm sorry that I've never heard of Judit Polar before, which is ridiculous since I've definitely heard of Bobby Fischer. The interviews in this are neat, love that they have Kasparav involved. The music is great in this as well. It would've been interesting if the sisters spoke a bit more of their perspective on how they were raised, I don't think it would have to have slandered their father to do so, but only they can say if they valued the experiment and if there were challenges as adults due to the singular focus of their education.

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Elizabeth B

@RT70751567 Feb 26

Thoroughly enjoyed this doc. Inspiring, fascinating and fun. We were jumping up and down cheering for Judit. Great story!

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GebtMirEuerGeld M

@allilomis Feb 22

Really engaging, a must for every Chess fan

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Carl V.

@cvarne Feb 22

Engaging, informative and inspiring! Compelling story. Nice to know this child prodigy grew up steady and happy, not to mention successfully!

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Stephanie L

@StephYYZ Feb 15

Loved watching this with my family- we all enjoyed it (and we are not chess players). The story of the Polgars is so interesting- it sounds more like a tale of fiction- you can't help but be engaged in it as it unfolds. Definitely worth the watch and will leave you with lots to think about.

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Christina N.

@RT86853089 Feb 15

I love a great documentary and learning about someone who was not not on my radar before. All the sisters are inspiring and I believe they had a great deal of influence on women’s rights. The male comments about female brain power are insane. When you have to fight all obstacles and still prevail- inspiring!

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Rory Kennedy

Director

Judit Polgár

Self

Garry Kasparov

Self

Mark Bailey

Writer

Keven McAlester

Writer

Mark Bailey

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

Hungarian chess prodigy Judit Polgár challenges champion Garry Kasparov and her controlling father over 15 years, breaking gender barriers to become the greatest female player ever.

Director: Rory Kennedy
Producer: Rory Kennedy, Mark Bailey, Keven McAlester
Screenwriter: Mark Bailey, Keven McAlester, Mark Bailey, Keven McAlester
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Biography, Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 6, 2026
Runtime: 1h 33m

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