Queen of Chess: Checkmate!

Queen of Chess (2026) • View trailerFive stars (out of five); rated TV-PG, and suitable for all agesAvailable via: NetflixBy Derrick Bang • Published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.26.26Empowerment documentaries don’t come better than this one. Rory Kennedy’s fascinating profile of chess prodigy Judit Polgár prompts viewers to stand up and cheer. Repeatedly. Judit Polgár and Garry Kasparov played each other many times, but no game was morenotorious than their first match, in early 1994, at Spain's 12th annualLinares Super Tournament.Because Polgár was a cause celebre from such a young age, Kennedy had access to countless archival photos and video clips; he smoothly blends these with contemporary “talking heads” commentary by Polgár and her two older sisters —Susan, Sofia and their parents — along with match analysis by chess commentator/players Dirk Jan, Anna Rudolf, Jovanka Houska, Maurice Ashley and Garry Kasparov.In the hands of Kennedy and co-scripters Mark Bailey and Keven McAlester,…