At 15, Judit Polgár was already a chess Grandmaster. Not in the women’s category: among men, in open tournaments, against Kasparov and Karpov. For thirty years she demolished the idea that women couldn’t compete at the highest level. Now Netflix is dedicating a documentary to her that isn’t a celebratory biopic, but a portrait of strategy, obsession, and solitude. The True Queen of Chess arrives on the platform for anyone who loved the series with Anya Taylor-Joy but is looking for something more concrete: real games, real sacrifices, victories that changed the rules of the game.
The film, directed by Rory Kennedy (an Emmy Award winner), entered Netflix’s global Top 10 just four days after release and debuted to a standing ovation from 1,200 people at the Sundance Film Festival. Polgár herself said the viewing numbers were surprising, and that she received thousands of messages from all over the world. The full story is below: who Judit is, why Kasparov is in the film, what critics are saying. (And yes, there’s a trailer.)
Learn more ►Here’s the (updated) Top 10 most-watched series on Netflix TODAY
The Queen of Chess: all the details
- Title: Queen of Chess
- Format: Documentary
- Runtime: 93 minutes
- Genre: Biography, Sports documentary
- Country of production: United States, Hungary
- Director: Rory Kennedy
- Starring: Judit Polgár
- Main interviewees: Garry Kasparov, Susan Polgár, Sofia Polgár, Anna Rudolf, Jovanka Houska
- Producers: Rory Kennedy, Mark Bailey, Keven McAlester
- Netflix release date: February 6, 2026
- Age rating: For everyone
What The Queen of Chess is about
The story begins in late-1980s Budapest, where Judit Polgár and her two older sisters grow up in a tiny apartment as part of an ambitious educational experiment. Their father, László Polgár, an educator convinced that geniuses are made, not born, turns his daughters into chess champions through homeschooling and daily hours of training (you can find more here).
The documentary follows Judit’s rise in the world of professional chess: at 12 she becomes the world’s number one among women; at 15 she earns the Grandmaster title, breaking Bobby Fischer’s record for youngest. But the heart of the film is her rivalry with Garry Kasparov, the world’s dominant champion from 1985 to 2000. At the Linares tournament, the Wimbledon of chess, during a game against Kasparov on move 36, the Russian champion makes a mistake and then an unsporting move to correct it. Judit, just a girl, doesn’t know whether to protest. That moment becomes a symbol of a larger clash: between talent and prejudice, between determination and a system that considered her inferior by definition.
The game is never over… until it’s truly over
Judit Polgár
Cast and key figures
The documentary is built on interviews with the real-life protagonists of the story:
- Judit Polgár — The Hungarian chess player who made history. Born July 23, 1976, in Budapest, she’s considered the strongest female player of all time. The only woman ever to break into the world Top 10, she retired from competitive chess in 2014 at the Tromsø Olympiad. Today she works as a coach, commentator, and ambassador for chess in schools.
- Garry Kasparov — A chess legend, world champion from 1985 to 2000. In the documentary he reflects on his rivalry with Polgár and acknowledges the biases that dominate the chess world. In an interview at Sundance 2026, Polgár revealed that she and Kasparov recently played a recreational game of freestyle chess.
- Susan and Sofia Polgár — Judit’s older sisters, also top-level chess players. Raised in the same educational experiment led by their father László, they offer a look at the family dynamic that shaped the champion.
- Anna Rudolf, Jovanka Houska — Contemporary commentators and chess players who analyze Polgár’s legacy in modern chess.
Who directed The Queen of Chess
Rory Kennedy is an Oscar-nominated American documentary filmmaker and Emmy Award winner. Known for her rigorous journalistic approach, she directed Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022), a documentary that exposed Boeing’s safety failures after two air disasters. Kennedy said Judit’s life shows what can happen when someone is determined to break down barriers, and that the Sundance festival, where the film premiered, helped launch her career many years ago.
Is it a true story?
Yes. Judit Polgár is a real Hungarian chess player, a Grandmaster, born in Budapest on July 23, 1976. Every game, every tournament, every victory described in the documentary really happened. Unlike Beth Harmon, the fictional protagonist of the series The Queen’s Gambit with Anya Taylor-Joy, Judit Polgár is a historical figure who forever changed the landscape of professional chess.
Learn more ► The world of documentaries on Netflix
What critics are saying about The Queen of Chess
On Rotten Tomatoes, the documentary currently has a score of 82% based on reviews from outlets like The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. On IMDb, it has a 7.7 out of 10 rating.
Roger Ebert wrote that Kennedy’s direction is an apt match for Polgár, whose playing style was marked by relentless yet gracious aggression, and that the film is not only a celebration of the sport’s versatility but also a testament to the life-giving power of a woman’s ambition and determination. However, some reviews note that the documentary explores too superficially the trauma of tying one’s worth to winning, and that it focuses too much on the rivalry with Kasparov at the expense of Polgár’s other achievements.
The documentary reached seventh place in Netflix’s global ranking on February 10, just four days after release, and is in the Top 5 in 18 countries including Canada, Belgium, Slovakia, and Israel. In Hungary, Judit’s home country, it held the number one spot for four consecutive days.
Why you should watch it
If you liked The Queen’s Gambit with Anya Taylor-Joy, here you’ll find the real-life version: less glamour, more tension. If you loved The Last Dance, it follows the same blueprint: a champion who had to prove everything, game after game, against opponents who didn’t take her seriously. You don’t need to be a chess fan: the film is built like a thriller, where every move counts and every match hides a bigger confrontation.
When it comes out on Netflix
Available on Netflix starting February 6, 2026.
► WATCH THE TRUE QUEEN OF CHESS ON NETFLIX
Trailer
Here’s the official trailer to give you a sense of the atmosphere and archival footage Kennedy assembled for the documentary.
