Netflix audiences are curious about the female chess grandmaster Judit Polgar and her life beyond the sport.
Queen of Chess is an intriguing new Netflix documentary film focusing on real-life female chess champion Judit Polgár.
The factual film is perfect for fans of the 2020 drama The Queen’s Gambit and gives a real-life insight into the best female chess player in the world.
Where is Queen of Chess star Judit Polgar now?
Judit is married to vet Gusztáv Font after the couple met by chance when she took the family dog to be treated.
Gusztáv instantly fell for Judit, and the pair started dating before tying the knot in 2000.
In 2003, she had her peak world ranking at number eight. While her professional career was flourishing, she was struggling in her personal life after she suffered a miscarriage in 2002 at 13 weeks.
She told The Independent in 2012: “So it was a terrible time personally but a great time professionally.
“It was then that I decided to stop playing… I thought, perhaps if I stop playing then I will be able to get pregnant again.”
They welcomed son Oliver in 2004 and daughter Hanna two years later in 2006.
After the births of her two children, she gave up chess for a few years before returning to the game.
Judit no longer plays in standard chess tournaments after announcing her retirement in 2014, having played professionally since the age of 12.
Although she has stepped away from competing, she is a chess commentator and an author of chess books.
She has also hosted the Global Chess Festival and is behind the charity The Judit Polgar Chess Foundation, which seeks to promote education, science, culture and sport through chess.
Judit’s ascent in the world of chess was no accident after her educational psychologist father László Polgár decided that she and her sisters Sofia and Susan would become part of his experiment to create geniuses.
Instead of school, the girls would be taught chess seven days a week for eight to nine hours.
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In the Netflix documentary, Judit grew emotional when asked how she felt about being the subject of her father’s experiment to create a genius.
She said: “Of course, on one hand, it’s not nice being part of an experiment. I never felt myself being a genius.
“I know that the things I could reach, that was definitely 90 percent of my work and dedication, and this came from my parents.”
Judit continued: “My father, of course, was the one who showed me the beauty of chess. But, also what I could do, that I could be great. People have to believe in you and you have to believe in yourself.
“I think the most important thing is that from today, you have to be better than yesterday, and tomorrow you try to get better. And always fight until the very end.”
The documentary charts the fierce rivalry between Judit and world number one at the time Garry Kasparov, with the two battling each other in several matches over the years. It looked like Judit would never be able to beat Garry.
Did Judit ever beat Garry Kasparov?
Yes, she finally beat Kasparov in 2002 and she was crowned one of the best players in the world.
In the documentary, Judit said how she dreamed about winning against Garry and her eventual victory was a “great satisfaction”.
Her family were elected and sister Sofia said it was “a moment we had waited our whole lives to do”.
While older sister Susan said: “I was very proud of her. My father was extremely happy. I think he was jumping up and down from happiness.”
Laszlo said: “It was a fabulous achievement for her and that’s why I felt our experiment worked. But you can only say that Judit was one of the best players in the world.
“To be the number one among the world’s players, she would have had to work three or fours hours a day more. I’m just glad to see Judit happy.”
After beating Kasparov, Judit would then break into the top 10 players of all time and remains the only woman to have done so.
Queen of Chess is streaming on Netflix now
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