‘Near perfect’ Netflix documentary about ‘real Queen’s Gambit’ now streaming | Films | Entertainment

Netflix has just released a documentary that will captivate fans of the 2020 chess drama The Queen’s Gambit.

Queen of Chess chronicles the life of real-life chess champion and former child prodigy Judit Polgár, charting her journey to becoming a grandmaster in a male-dominated world, reports the Mirror.

Similar to The Queen’s Gambit, the new Netflix documentary examines Hungarian grandmaster Polgár’s formative years as she trained from the age of five, alongside her sisters Susan and Sofia, to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

Queen of Chess delves into Polgár’s extraordinarily unconventional childhood shaped by her parents.

Her father László, an educational psychologist, effectively treated his children as subjects in an experiment to demonstrate that “geniuses are made, not born” by enforcing an intensive chess training schedule that saw them studying the game for eight or nine hours daily throughout the week.

The documentary also details the landmark 1994 chess encounter between Polgár and Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov.

The bout marked the first occasion globally where the world’s top-ranked female chess player would face off against her male equivalent.

The film premiered in January at the Sundance Festival before launching on Netflix globally today (February 6).

Queen of Chess has already garnered favourable reviews, with one viewer awarding it a 9/10 rating on IMDb. One reviewer commented: “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) [sic].”

They praised the opening section as “near perfect” in chronicling Polgár’s history and successes, whilst commending the editing for its “fantastic energy” that maintained the narrative’s momentum.

Their assessment concluded: “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.”

The Guardian awarded the film 3/5 stars, characterising it as a “rhapsodic account of the life of the greatest female chess player of all time”.

Nevertheless, their critic suggested the production wanted for greater substance, noting “the persistent sense that there’s more to Polgár’s story”.

RogerEbert.com, meanwhile, granted the documentary 3/4 stars, and whilst calling for additional complexity, their reviewer observed the film “gives a champion her flowers, reminding that you can always build your own chair and pull up at the gatekeeping tables.”

Netflix had previously unveiled a trailer for the documentary, which prompted acclaim from audiences, with one YouTube commenter declaring: “Queen of Chess’ is synonymous with Judith Polgar.

“Even before starting the video, I knew this documentary is going to be about her just by watching the thumbnail. One of the greatest sport personalities of all time.”

Another viewer commented: “I can’t wait to see this! My chess teacher told me about the Polgar sisters.

“Judit and her sister are so inspiring for breaking down barriers in such a male-dominated endeavor [sic].”

A third remarked: “The real Queens Gambit,” whilst a fourth person added: “Thank you Netflix for featuring the life story of one of the most amazing sports players in the history of humanity!”

Queen of Chess is streaming on Netflix now

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