We followed yesterday’s news with great pride: on January 27, 2026, the world premiere of the documentary about the life of chess legend Judit Polgár—a longtime supporter of our Foundation—was held at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.
Oscar-Nominated Director and Never-Before-Seen footage
The production titled Queen of Chess does not merely present an athlete’s career; it carries a universal message of perseverance and the realization of dreams that can serve as an example for all our students. The 93-minute film is directed by the Oscar-nominated American filmmaker Rory Kennedy. A unique feature of the film is that it contains a wealth of never-before-seen archival footage from the life of the Polgár family, ranging from Budapest behind the Iron Curtain to the behind-the-scenes secrets of the most exciting international competitions.
When can we see it?
Following its festival appearances, the film will almost immediately embark on its world tour. Good news for domestic fans and the Foundation community: The film will debut on the most popular streaming platform on February 6, 2026, making it available to everyone with Hungarian subtitles.
The Sundance Film Festival writes about the film:
A Hungarian girl dreams of conquering international men’s chess. After a 15-year battle against world champion Garry Kasparov, Judit Polgár revolutionizes the sport’s patriarchal culture to become one of the greatest chess prodigies in history and the greatest woman chess player of all time.
Veteran documentarian Rory Kennedy returns to the Sundance Film Festival with this empowering portrait tracing Judit Polgár’s trailblazing story. Raised by her father in communist Hungary as part of an unusual experiment to cultivate genius, Polgár quickly made her mark in the world of chess. By the age of 12, she was the number one female player in the world; less than four years later, she broke Bobby Fischer’s legendary record to become the youngest grandmaster in history. But Polgár was determined to refute the ingrained sexism of the game by beating the greatest chess player in the world, Garry Kasparov. Queen of Chess chronicles their historic, long-running battle of the sexes, punctuated with a dynamic visual aesthetic, a rich archive, and a rousing girl-power soundtrack.
For our Foundation, this film is not just about a distant global success, as we have been in close contact with Judit Polgár and her team for years. Our relationship goes far beyond mere support: year after year, the university students of the Csányi Foundation participate as volunteers, and our Foundation’s chess team as competitors in the simultaneous matches at one of Judit’s most important passion projects, the Global Chess Festival.
Source & Photo: Judit Polgár’s Official Facebook Page