'Queen of Chess' Review: Netflix's Fascinating New Documentary Is 'Queen’s Gambit' Meets 'Battle of the Sexes'

Release Date February 6, 2026

Runtime 93 Minutes

Director Rory Kennedy

Writers Mark Bailey, Keven McAlester

Producers Rory Kennedy, Keven McAlester, Mark Bailey

Cast

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Pros & Cons

• Rory Kennedy?s direction is clear and snappy, easily holding your attention.
• Judit Polgár is a fascinating, inspiring woman who?s easy to root for.
• The documentary gives the audience key cultural and political context that makes the story even more compelling and impressive.

• The tone can feel a bit hokey at times.
• The documentary doesn?t dive into the ethics and impact of Judit?s father?s controversial methods deeply enough.

“Chess,” Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov says in the first few minutes of Netflix’s new documentary, “is psychological warfare.” It’s a bold statement — one that becomes even more interesting when, a bit later, we get Judit Polgár’s description of the game: “Chess is infinite possibility.” The game is many different things to many different people: a means to challenge oneself, an opportunity to build a better future, a passion worth dedicating an entire life to. Queen of Chess explores all of these viewpoints and more.

What Is ‘Queen of Chess’ About?

Queen of Chess examines the life of Judit Polgár, who is known as the greatest female chess player of all time — and one of the very best in general. Polgár was born the youngest of three daughters in communist Hungary and had a very untraditional childhood. Her father, László, had a theory that geniuses are not born but made and attempted to prove this by having his children forgo traditional education to study chess every day for eight to nine hours.

His methods, while divisive, seemed to work, with each girl gaining massive success in the field. Though usually shy, chess gave Polgár confidence and brought her out of her shell. She quickly developed an aggressive playing style and was beating everyone she played against, no matter their gender, age, or rank. That is, until she went up against World Champion Garry Kasparov, who is considered by some to be the greatest player to ever live. The majority of the film chronicles their rivalry over the years, including a 1994 scandal that took the entire sport by storm, Polgár’s eventual historic victory in 2002, and even the development of a surprising friendship of sorts between the two.

Judit Polgár Is Easy To Root for in ‘Queen of Chess’

Image via Netflix

Chess is like golf in that it’s not usually considered the most exciting, fast-paced competition to watch, and yet, Queen of Chess is never boring. Much of this is due to director Rory Kennedy’s stylish techniques that range from a lively title sequence to a soundtrack filled with popular, high-energy songs by Blondie and Elastica. Though the tone can occasionally veer a little cheesy, pushing an on-the-nose girlboss message that feels slightly dated, it’s effectively charming more often than not. Even if you don’t know the first thing about chess, it’s relatively easy to follow, offering you a crash course on things like the Berlin and Sicilian Defence openings, and Kennedy sufficiently builds tension and suspense during key match moments.

It also helps that Judit Polgár is a delight to watch, both in archival footage and present-day interviews. “That she remained a normal and pleasant person is a miracle,” one expert says at the end of the film, which sums it up well. There’s a refreshing lack of arrogance to Polgár that characterizes so many other chess players, but make no mistake, she’s the furthest thing from meek and weak. Rather, it is her combination of poise and sportsmanship — qualities written off as unassertive and unserious by her competitors — that ultimately ends up being her greatest strength. There is frequently a small smile tugging at the corner of Polgár’s face as she reminisces about her past, and her joy is contagious. The section focusing on her love story with husband Gusztáv Font is extra heartwarming and interesting, both for its emotional impact and for the fact that the relationship actually changed how she approached the game.

Queen of Chess will likely infuriate you at times, specifically when depicting the sexism that Polgár dealt with. Some quotes are so misogynistic that it’s shocking, with numerous well-respected chess champions outright saying that women are intellectually inferior. While these moments are sure to make your blood boil, they show just how impressive Polgár’s achievements are — and make watching her prove everyone wrong that much sweeter. To see a young girl wearing a scrunchie beat grown men over twice her age who were doubting her talent is simply delicious, and the moment she breaks the record set by Bobby Fischer (who famously said women are “terrible chess players” who “are not so smart”) to become the youngest player to achieve a grandmaster title is particularly satisfying.

‘Queen of Chess’ Gives Crucial Cultural Context, but It Glosses Over One Key Controversy

Image via Netflix

In addition to explaining the basic rules of the game, Queen of Chess does a great job of providing cultural and political context that an international audience may not know. For example, the government initially banned the Polgárs from traveling outside the Eastern Bloc to compete, but the more successful they got, the more pressure the chess community put on Hungary, and officials eventually caved due to the bad press they were receiving. Kasparov’s achievements were important to his country as well, as the Soviet Union thought of the sport as a political weapon to prove that communism was superior to the “decadent West.” These details make for an even more entertaining story, with the stakes significantly higher when you consider the environment and time period in which these events are taking place.

The documentary’s coverage of the infamous touch-move controversy during Kasparov and Polgár’s first-ever matchup is particularly impressive as well, clearly laying out the timeline and twists of the whirlwind scandal. It is a shame, then, that another scandal is brushed over and minimized. Though the film brings up the frankly disturbing idea of Polgár being an experiment to her father several times, it doesn’t go deep enough in exploring the ethics or long-lasting psychological impact of this. Polgár mostly skirts around talking about how she feels about being his subject when questioned, though she does get visibly uncomfortable. The film, however, doesn’t take it further than that, leaving us with more questions than answers. The documentary seems almost afraid to go too deeply into that complicated, potentially dark side, as it would threaten the simpler, more cheery narrative it pushes about Polgár and her accomplishments for women.

By refusing to engage with messier material, Queen of Chess ends up being a rather straightforward, feel-good documentary, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Though it hits familiar biographical beats, Kennedy’s direction always keeps your attention and celebrates a remarkable woman whose amazing story deserves to be told. It also inspired me to start learning chess on Duolingo (a thing you can apparently do now), so at the very least, it’s following in the footsteps of another Netflix production, The Queen’s Gambit, and encouraging more people to learn the game. I’d say that’s honestly a pretty powerful thing.

Queen of Chess premieres on Netflix on February 6th.