Queen of Chess 2026 Movie Review
Wow this was good. Now, some preface on my review: I play a lot of chess. I’m not very good but I do know my history of chess very well, and I was already very familiar with the story of Judit Polgar. I think most people can relate to the fact that knowing what is going to be in a movie can often leave you with higher expectations and higher letdowns. Not so here.
Without reiterating the story that was brilliant told in this documentary, I will say that it managed to tell it in a way that was well-crafted with a good balance of narration and individual perspectives (which is what a good doc should have). There was a very appropriate combination of old pictures, old videos, modern interviews and subtle new reenactments at points. Definitely a documentary that people should study to learn how to make one that sticks out.
I think the first half (45 minutes) was near perfect. It set things up appropriately and was able to hit these story beats naturally, making Judit’s victories feel earned. The second half was still good but the writing did hit a tiny bit of a wall. Whereas the first half was going through Judit’s many achievements, the second half became primarily focused on her games against Garry Kasparov, where her accelerated progress made a halt. Now I understand this is probably how Judit felt and it’s a good way of having the audience emphathize. I think a better way to solve this change in pace would have also been to talk more about her opponents or challenges during her childhood.
Okay, I don’t know who edited this documentary, but if they do not have an Emmy I will find whoever is responsible for not giving them one. The editing really is the star of the show here. Keeps everything flowing really well, and gives the documentary fantastic energy, allowing even non-players of chess to get invested. The way the music was edited into this documentary was near flawless, mixing modern music with classical. It just really feels like they were able to send someone back in time to take pictures and videos with how perfect so many of the images and videos look here.
I’ve found many stories about strong women to be overblown, but this does a pretty decent job at telling an underdog story. For those who want even more context about just how impressive Judit Polgar’s achievements are in chess, just know only 6 women have passed 2600 ELO in classical and Judit is the only one to pass 2700 (2735 was her peak). I’m pretty sure that Judit is the only woman to beat a world champion in a rated classical game for as long as chess games have been recorded. She’s the only woman to enter the FIDE top 10 ever. Even after she’s retired from competitive play, chess is still considered by many to be a men’s club, and the highest rated woman right now is #123 on FIDE’s website as of writing this. And all this was done by purely hard work and dedication, bravely stepping into territory that had large stigmatisms against top female players. Her accomplishments can’t be ignored, and I’m so glad this documentary did it justice. Will definitely be checking this out again once it shows on Netflix.
