Queen of Chess Review: Grandmaster Judit Polgár’s Extraordinary Career Is Reduced to the Level of a Basic Slideshow in Unremarkable Netflix Doc

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Chess is a sport that seems perfect for movies. The game naturally creates suspense as it progresses, requiring both mental strength and strategic thinking. That’s why films like The Queen’s Gambit and Queen of Katwe were so successful, and likely why experienced filmmaker Rory Kennedy decided to create a Netflix documentary about Hungarian chess grandmaster Judit Polgár.

All three stories also highlight remarkable women who succeeded in a male-dominated world. It’s easy to assume that chess, being a mental game rather than a physical one, would be more equitable. However, the reality is different. Despite requiring intellectual strength, the world of chess, unfortunately, still allows for sexism and outdated beliefs about the intelligence of men versus women.

As a huge cinema fan, I was really disappointed with ‘Queen of Chess’. It just didn’t explore the real drama of the game itself, or the sexism Judit Polgár had to overcome throughout her life, with the depth it deserved. Instead, it oddly focused almost entirely on her rivalry with Garry Kasparov. They played each other a lot, sure, but making that the central story unintentionally reduced Polgár’s incredible career to simply proving she could compete with men. It felt like all her other amazing wins – against champions like Magnus Carlsen and Anatoly Karpov – weren’t considered important enough to include, which was a real shame.

Queen of Chess Is Endemic of Netflix’s Bog-Standard ‘Documentary of the Week’ Aestheticism

Okay, so I just watched the Kennedy documentary, and honestly, my biggest issue with it is how… Netflix-y it feels. Even though it premiered at Sundance, it feels like it was made for streaming, not for a real cinematic experience. It follows the same formula as a ton of other documentaries on the platform – lots of old footage and people talking into the camera. It gives you a general overview of her life, but it doesn’t really dig deep into the context, or the world she lived in. It just feels…surface level, you know?

The interesting details surrounding Judit Polgár’s incredible success – becoming the first woman to reach the top ten chess players in the world and exceed a 2700 rating – are largely overlooked. The film briefly touches on her difficult childhood growing up in communist Hungary in the 1970s, and completely ignores her Jewish heritage (which she shares with Garry Kasparov). Furthermore, the potentially abusive behavior of her demanding father is only briefly mentioned towards the end of the film.

The film Queen of Chess doesn’t fully explore these important themes, leaving viewers feeling somewhat distant. It falls into a category of streaming movies – sometimes called “podcast cinema” or “PowerPoint cinema” – that rely heavily on dialogue and minimal visuals, barely justifying the use of cinematic techniques. This is disappointing, given how remarkable and pioneering Judit Polgár actually is.

Kennedy effectively highlights the sexism Polgár faced despite her incredible talent. While she became a grandmaster at the remarkably young age of fifteen years and four months – breaking Bobby Fischer’s record by over eighteen years – she consistently struggled to earn the respect of her male opponents. This bias is evident in comments like Fischer’s claim that women lack the intelligence for chess mastery, another player attributing her success to mere luck, and Viktor Kochnoi dismissing her victories by saying he wasn’t motivated to play against her.

Kennedy uses punk rock music unexpectedly throughout the film, a creative choice that unfortunately isn’t matched elsewhere. While the film succeeds in sharing Polgár’s story with a wider audience, it doesn’t offer much insight beyond what you could find in a simple online biography. Given Polgár’s significant influence – one that directly challenged the obstacles she faced – it’s disappointing the film doesn’t delve deeper. We needed a more thorough exploration to truly appreciate her accomplishments.

Queen of Chess screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and will be released on Netflix on February 6th.

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2026-02-03 17:08