Untold: Chess Mates Review
Director: Thomas Tancred
Date Created: 2026-04-07 19:51
2.5
Untold: Chess Mates Review: Netflix’s newest addition to its Untold series is the documentary directed by Thomas Tancred on the well-known chess scandal of 2022 between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann. The film, which lasts for an hour and fifteen minutes, includes interviews with both chess players and the officials at Chess.com.
Untold: Chess Mates Review
Netflix’s Untold: Chess Mates discusses the scandal itself, which is such an odd phenomenon and has received so much publicity that it could very well be a made-for-TV documentary series. With Magnus Carlsen, perhaps one of the best chess players of his generation, calling out Hans Niemann, a rising chess star who has been the subject of many controversies, it’s no wonder that the tale could practically narrate itself.
In some ways, this film succeeds in captivating its audience. At least during the first hour, which is mainly about Niemann’s ascension to fame, the film is rather engaging. It is really captivating to know about how he constructed his image. In many ways, Niemann differs from regular chess players, as he enjoys attention. His loud and sometimes arrogant presence on streams, together with his confidence and anti-authoritative stance, makes him an intriguing individual to observe.
What is intriguing is the way in which he is portrayed as someone who wants to become part of a closed group or an elite class. He evolves from being a participant in chess matches played online during the lockdowns to a grandmaster, and this transition is raw and real. The fact that the documentary did not shy away from portraying him as flawed, with instances of cheating in games played online, was intriguing.
But this is where the Untold Chess Mates documentary falls short as well. Even though it sets the stage for Niemann to be an important character, it fails to provide a balanced approach towards him by comparing and contrasting both his and Carlsen’s points of view. Magnus Carlsen, even though he is an important character in this scandal, seems rather distant from the whole story. It only manages to give us small insights into his motives, his belief that there was something non-human about Niemann’s moves, but it does not dig deeper into what makes those motives credible.
And this imbalance is emphasised further on in the documentary. The whole debate about the cheating scandal should have been the core issue in the film. Yet, all this becomes an endless “he said, he said” cycle in the documentary. Both parties of the debate are given equal representation in the documentary without introducing any fresh perspective.
In fact, the most striking part of the Untold: Chess Mates documentary for me was not a surprising disclosure of any facts but rather the absurdity of everything happening around this case. The famous “anal beads” hypothesis, which is mentioned in the documentary through interviews and articles, sounds pretty ridiculous. There are times when one finds it difficult to accept the reality of a story like that being discussed in connection with a serious professional sport discipline.
On the one hand, this documentary Untold: Chess Mates, is certainly engaging. Drama, characters, and the absurdity of their claims, there are reasons for staying tuned. But on the other hand, it often seems like the movie focuses too much on entertainment. Another point that did not go down well with me is the fact that there was no resolution at all. While I can appreciate the fact that the actual issue had no clear-cut resolution of its own, there could have been an effort on the part of the filmmaker to offer a more insightful point of view.
Even the inclusion of the involvement of Chess.com, which would have provided another level concerning the power plays in the chess community, seems incomplete. There is a hint that the corporation may be influencing events to some degree and that there may be some bias involved. However, none of these ideas is explored further.
Even the rematches between Carlsen and Niemann in 2024 should feel like an adequate ending to the documentary. Unfortunately, it seems to be quite underwhelming. While it does demonstrate that Carlsen reclaimed his dominance over the board, it fails to provide any kind of closure, especially since it further emphasises the ambiguity at the centre of the plot.
Netflix Untold: Chess Mates Review: Summing Up
Having said all that, however, I don’t think it’s a terrible documentary either. For those who are unaware of the situation behind the film, it can act as an excellent introduction. However, even for those who are familiar with it, the characters are interesting enough to make one continue watching the film. The problem is that it should have been better than that.
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