Movies like The Polgar Variant (2014)
The best movies like The Polgar Variant (2014) are Queen of Katwe (2016), The Black Cat (1934) and Queen of Chess (2026). If The Polgar Variant hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSchindler's List (1993)8.6/10 from 18,169 votes
- NewestUntold: Chess Mates (2026)Released 2026
Queen of Katwe (2016)
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Black Cat (1934)
After a road accident in Hungary, the American honeymooners Joan and Peter and the enigmatic Dr. Werdegast find refuge in the house of the famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig, who shares a dark past with the doctor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQueen of Chess (2026)
A Hungarian girl dreams of conquering international men’s chess. After a 15-year battle against world champion Garry Kasparov and her domineering father, 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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn American Rhapsody (2001)
A Hungarian family forced to flee the Communist country for the United States must leave a young daughter behind. Six years later, the family arranges to bring the absent daughter to the United States where she has trouble adjusting. The daughter then decides to travel to Budapest to discover her identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunshine (1999)
The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMistress America (2015)
A college freshman cures her disappointment and loneliness by allowing herself to be pulled into the wacky schemes of her future stepsister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Countess (2009)
Kingdom of Hungary, 17th century. As she gets older, powerful Countess Erzsébet Báthory (1560-1614), blinded by the passion that she feels for a younger man, succumbs to the mad delusion that blood will keep her young and beautiful forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Notebook (2013)
In a village on the Hungarian border, two young brothers grow up during war time with their cruel grandmother and must learn every trick of evil to survive in the absurd world of adults.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Luzhin Defence (2000)
Based upon the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a chess grandmaster travels to Italy in the 1920s to play in a tournament and falls in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Real Pain (2024)
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Sparrow (2018)
Prima ballerina Dominika Egorova faces a bleak and uncertain future after she suffers an injury that ends her career. She soon turns to Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people to use their minds and bodies as weapons. Dominika emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after completing the sadistic training process. As she comes to terms with her new abilities, she meets a CIA agent who tries to convince her that he is the only person she can trust.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Arithmetic (1999)
An American-born Jewish adolescent, Hannah Stern, is uninterested in the culture, faith and customs of her relatives. However, she begins to revaluate her heritage when she has a supernatural experience that transports her back to a Nazi death camp in 1941. There she meets a young girl named Rivkah, a fellow captive in the camp. As Rivkah and Hannah struggle to survive in the face of daily atrocities, they form an unbreakable bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPawn Sacrifice (2015)
During the height of the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer finds himself caught between two superpowers when he challenges the Soviet Empire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSchindler's List (1993)
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOne Life (2023)
British stockbroker Nicholas Winton visits Czechoslovakia in the 1930s and forms plans to assist in the rescue of Jewish children before the onset of World War II, in an operation that came to be known as the Kindertransport.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Book Thief (2013)
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisQuiz Lady (2023)
A brilliant but tightly wound, gameshow-obsessed young woman, Anne, and her estranged, train-wreck of a sister, Jenny, must work together to help cover their mother's gambling debts. When Anne's beloved dog is kidnapped, they set out on a wild, cross-country trek to get the cash the only way they know how: by turning Anne into a bona-fide gameshow champion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pawnbroker (1965)
A Jewish pawnbroker, a victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUntold: Chess Mates (2026)
Magnus Carlsen, widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all time, is challenged by Hans Niemann, a rising star who capitalizes on the meteoric growth of online chess. Niemann’s ascension culminated in an epic, controversy-shrouded victory over Carlsen at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, which eventually led to allegations and revelations of cheating. Determined to clear his name, Niemann fights his way back to the top of the chess world, setting the stage for a high-stakes rematch with Carlsen in 2024.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFreedom Writers (2007)
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Polgar Variant?
The closest matches to The Polgar Variant are Queen of Katwe (2016), The Black Cat (1934) and Queen of Chess (2026). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Polgar Variant?
Start with Queen of Katwe (2016), the closest match to The Polgar Variant.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Polgar Variant?
Schindler's List (1993), rated 8.6/10 by 18,169 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Polgar Variant?
Untold: Chess Mates (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Polgar Variant chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Polgar Variant, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.