Queen of Chess

Queen of Chess
Directed byRory Kennedy
Written byMark Bailey
Keven McAlester
Produced byMark Bailey
Keven McAlester
CinematographyImre Juhász
Edited byAzin Samari
Jesse Overman
Music byCamilo Forero
Chris Brocato
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • February 6, 2026 (2026-02-06)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Hungarian

Queen of Chess is a 2026 American documentary film which explores the life and career of Hungarian chess grandmaster Judit Polgár. It was directed by Rory Kennedy.

Synopsis

It focuses on her father's efforts to train her and her two sisters to become chess grandmasters, and on the saga of her multiple and intense matches against the then formidable world champion Garry Kasparov.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 16 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

References

  1. ↑ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (December 19, 2025). "'Queen Of Chess' Documentary Selected For Sundance, Acquired By Netflix". Chess.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2025. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  2. ↑ Carey, Matthew (December 11, 2025). "Documentary Super Directors, Super Producers Book Passage To Final Sundance In Park City; Brittney Griner, Billie Jean King Also Courted By Festival". Archived from the original on December 23, 2025. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Queen of Chess". Sundance.org. Archived from the original on January 13, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Queen of Chess". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Queen of Chess". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on September 17, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Queen of Chess". Metacritic. Retrieved February 15, 2026.