Queen of Chess: A Documentary on Judit Polgar releases today on Netflix
06/02/2026 - You all remember "The Queen's Gambit," the Netflix series telling the story of the (fictional) chess prodigy Beth Harmon. It quickly became the platform’s most-watched miniseries. Now Netflix is doing it again, but this time it's about the (real-life) strongest female chess player ever: Judit Polgar. She started as a child prodigy and went on to break records against the world’s top male players. Her fearless spirit made her a legend. Judit fought skepticism and sexism at every step of her journey. By taking on the greatest champions of her time, including Garry Kasparov, she earned her place among chess’s all-time greats. The documentary will be released on Netflix today. To get you in the mood, Frederic Friedel describes his encounters with Judit over the last forty years. Photo: Netflix