Disney gave us the Queen of Katwe. Anya Taylor-Joy, the Queen’s Gambit. But when the real Judit Polgar comes along, there’s only one title Netflix and Rory Kennedy ever really considered. No debate necessary. Not even from Garry Kasparov.
Such humble beginnings for the Queen of Chess. Judit was born to poor parents in Budapest in the 1970s. Her father Laszlo, decided early that his three daughters (Susan and Sofia were Judit’s older sisters) didn’t really need school: what they needed was to become some sort of genius (on the DL to make daddy famous). This “experiment” discovered all 3 sisters were great, but Judit was a real chess prodigy, beating legitimate players by the age of 10. After a breakout showing at the 28th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Judit became a star, and the Hungarian government gave her free reign to travel the world to play chess, meaning she would get a chance (or 15) to play the best player in the world, maybe of all time, Garry Kasparov.
There’s lots of ways to tell Judit Polgar’s tale, but Rory Kennedy settles for the safe one. This is a classic sports fable, through and through. Knowing the beats doesn’t make the story any less thrilling. In fact, that’s the best part of the Queen of Chess, is how exciting it is all told. The background music gives Judit’s rise a propulsive energy it never relents. There are many setbacks, but they always feel more like bumps Judit can overcome instead of insurmountable obstacles. And the triumphs rock! That 28th Chess Olympiad is legendary stuff, as this group of teenage Hungarian female chess players try to dethrone the top tier Soviets who haven’t lost in decades, Judit’s Lake Placid. From there, and like in other chess media Kennedy shoots the Polgar/Karsparov matches like rounds in a prize fight. Judith lands a few, Kasparov counters, Judith gets knocked down…but then gets back up, and tries again. Like the Queen’s Gambit, the movie shows those counterpunches come from within, as Judit over and over again shows this resilience and spirit that prevents her from just settling. Each little gain of knowledge and Kasparov’s own hubris eventually turn the tide in her favor (otherwise c’mon, there’d be no doc), and just a great high for the movie to go out on, with all these female chess grandmasters like Jovanka Houska or Anna Rudolf beaming talking about the Queen.
And still it feels like there’s meat on the bone. Kennedy’s laser focus on Judith is the right call, but there’s some real fascinating material underneath it. Laszlo’s parenting style will be the debate of this doc; the movie hints at how some people could see it as controlling and diabolical. Plus, Laszlo doesn’t do himself any favors with how cold and direct he presents himself. However, it certainly is a part of why Judit became the star that she is: just how much I would like explored in some ways. The movie oversimplifies Judit’s obstacles too. At every stopping point in her tale is a man, telling her she can’t do this. Every great chess player before 2000 has some real icky video of them talking about inferior brained women and why they never can compete at chess, including Kasparov, who likely convinced Rory Kennedy to keep his comments more covert. Just a few more minutes in each section about Judit’s societal breakthroughs I think would have painted her even more heroically. I also think a 5 minute coda would have been nice to. Real life Judit was a top 10 player for a long time, but was content to step away and focus on something else, perhaps showing how the best female chess player in history has, say, more healthy minded priorities than obsessed toxic competitive men?
Alas, those are mostly quibbles. The main story is too strong, and I’m glad it was told. I regrettably knew nothing of Judit Polgar, but now there’s an everlasting property about her others can see, and marvel at her greatness. Not just because of how many men and systems she overcame, but also because she did it through hard work and dignity, never losing sight of the real person underneath the legend. Judit Polgar, I resign to you!