Queen of Chess is a moving and powerful sports documentary about the highest-rated woman player in the history of chess.
‘For me, it is a deeply personal reminder of where we came from, and what it took to get there,’ notes Susan Polgar as she reviews her sister Judit Polgar’s Netflix documentary, Queen Of Chess.
Key Points
- Queen Of Chess is a documentary on legendary Grandmaster Judit Polgar.
- ‘My pride in Judit goes far beyond sisterhood. I watched her grow, struggle, and persevere.’
- ‘We broke barriers, challenged conventions, and paid a real price for doing so.’
Netflix’s new documentary Queen of Chess puts Hungarian chess Grandmaster Judit Polgar in the spotlight and highlights her life and achievements.
Her older sister Susan Polgar, a former women’s World Chess Champion and winner of 12 Olympiad medals (of which four were gold), reviews the documentary, and looks back at Judit’s successful chess journey.
‘My pride in Judit Polgar goes far beyond sisterhood’
First, my congratulations to Rory Kennedy and her team for bringing my family’s story to the screen in Queen of Chess.
The documentary centres on Judit’s extraordinary career and her rise to the very top of the chess world, with special attention to her historic games against Garry Kasparov.
What moved me most was the care and fairness with which this world was portrayed, especially knowing that the director entered it as an outsider. That respect shows.
I am especially grateful — and deeply moved — that my baby sister finally receives the recognition she so profoundly deserves. My pride in Judit goes far beyond sisterhood. I watched her grow, struggle, and persevere.
I spent countless hours teaching her the ropes of our sport and of life, and seeing her achievements honoured so beautifully filled me with emotion.
Watching old footage from the golden era of Polgaria was truly heartwarming. Those were extraordinary times, when the three of us stood side by side and conquered Chess Olympiads and major events around the world.
Some of the archival material surprised even me, I was seeing pieces of our own past for the first time, and it brought back memories I didn’t realise I still carried so vividly.
‘Queen of Chess stands as a moving and powerful sports documentary’
Our family’s story is rich and complex, marked by sacrifice, conflict, resilience, and triumph.
We broke barriers, challenged conventions, and paid a real price for doing so.
In just 93 minutes, it is impossible to tell it all.
Queen of Chess can only briefly touch on many crucial chapters like our parents’ revolutionary educational vision, and the intense and often painful battles my parents and I fought with Hungarian authorities long before Judit was even born or introduced to chess.
I shared many of these untold stories in my memoir, Rebel Queen.
To do justice to the full scope of our journey would require far more space, many familiar with the industry have said it would need a mini-series.
In the end, Queen of Chess stands as a moving and powerful sports documentary about the highest-rated woman player in the history of chess. For me, it is also a deeply personal reminder of where we came from, and what it took to get there.
As told to Jagan Venkatachari
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
