Queen Of Chess, the Netflix documentary directed by Rory Kennedy about GM Judit Polgar‘s rise from child prodigy to one of the world’s top players—woman or man—debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, ahead of its official Netflix debut on February 6. The documentary dives into her unique upbringing, her dramatic encounters with GM Garry Kasparov, and more. In case you missed the trailer for this highly anticipated documentary, here it is:
Festivities at Sundance, the largest film festival in the United States, which has been held annually since 1978, began over the weekend. Polgar, actor Alec Baldwin (also the subject of a recent Kennedy-directed documentary), Chess.com Chief Chess Officer IM Danny Rensch, and Queen of Chess consultant/Chess.com Director of Fair Play Dan Rozovsky held an event on Sunday, January 25. Polgar, playing blindfolded, played a game with Baldwin, which Polgar naturally won with ease—15 turns from the first move until checkmate—despite not seeing the board.
After the game, Polgar fielded questions from Baldwin and from the audience for about 15 minutes. Topics included:
- How the first grandmaster she ever beat—at 11 years old, which drew audible gasps when Polgar gave the audience that information—reacted. (He started banging his head against the wall in the elevator.)
- How chess has helped her in her daily life: “Chess is my mother tongue. I started to play when I was five years old. So… I do [everything] in a chess way: you have to adjust, adapt to all these situations, [but] there’s always a plan.”
- Her favorite depictions of chess in film are The Luzhin Defense and The Queen’s Gambit, which she described as “90-95 percent authentic” in its depiction of the chess world.
😂
I won.#QueenOfChess @sundancefest @netflix #chessgame https://t.co/kLS8BLrR0m
— Judit Polgar (@GMJuditPolgar) January 26, 2026
The premiere was held on Tuesday, January 27. At the press event ahead of the premiere, Polgar, her husband Gusztav Font, Kennedy, and Queen of Chess producers Mark Bailey and Keven McAlester took additional questions.
Kennedy discussed the filmmaking process, saying, “It was thrilling to learn about all the accomplishments she had with such opposition, and walking into these rooms where everybody wanted her to lose, and Judit kept winning. I really wanted to translate that sense of excitement I felt in learning about her story onto the screen.”
Polgar herself said, “As in chess, I loved the journey itself of preparation, discovering new ideas and new opportunities, and then playing the game… By now, [Kennedy] and her team, I have the feeling, know me much better than I know myself.”
As in chess, I loved the journey itself of preparation, discovering new ideas and new opportunities…
– GM Judit Polgar on the making Queen Of Chess
Both Kennedy and Polgar are happy with the film. “I’m hopeful that when people watch this film… they’ll be at the edge of their seat [for] what’s going to happen next.” Polgar added, “I think we got a great, fruitful, and beautiful film.”
Positive reviews are starting to come in from Collider.com (“Kennedy’s direction always keeps your attention and celebrates a remarkable woman whose amazing story deserves to be told”) and RogerEbert.com (“Queen of Chess gives a champion her flowers, reminding that you can always build your own chair and pull up at the gatekeeping tables”), and one Daniel Rensch: “I think fans are going to like it, especially those who really know the Polgar story and know of Judit’s accomplishments.”
The next step, after a successful premiere, is the coming Netflix debut on February 6.
Be sure to catch Queen of Chess on Netflix on February 6!
