A case of defamation has been filed against Netflix by a Georgian chess icon named Nona Gaprindashvili, saying she was incorrectly portrayed in the hit series The Queen’s Gambit.
The case refers to a sequence in the drama’s final episode that says Gaprindashvili, now 80, had never played competitive chess with men.
The document says that by 1968, the year in which the episode is set, she had faced at least 59 male players. Netflix said the claim had ‘no merit’. The company said it had ‘only the utmost respect for Gaprindashvili and her ‘illustrious career’ but that it would “vigorously defend the case”.
The Queen’s Gambit is based on the 1983 novel by Walter Tevis and focuses on a fictional chess player called Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy. The series was released last year, becoming what Netflix described as its “biggest limited scripted series ever”.
Born in 1941 in the Georgian town of Zugdidi, Gaprindashvili began playing chess at the age of 13, became a female World Championship at 20, and was the first woman to be awarded the title of grandmaster, according to the lawsuit.
Gaprindashvili, who lives in Tbilisi and continues to compete in chess tournaments, is seeking $5m (£3.6m) in compensation and the removal of the statement that she had never played against men. The Queen’s Gambit was viewed in more than 62 million households in the first 28 days after its release, according to Netflix.
