On Sunday, The Queen’s Gambit is expected to dominate the Emmys, where it’s nominated in 18 categories, including best actress in a limited series for Anya Taylor-Joy’s breakout performance as Beth Harmon. But before the celebrations can commence, Netflix has been hit with a $5 million defamation lawsuit from the real-life chess champ who may have inspired Beth’s character.
It all started with a single line of dialogue in the show’s finale. While competing at a 1968 tournament in Moscow, a chess commentator notes Beth’s groundbreaking position in the world of chess. “The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex,” the pundit says. “And even that’s not unique in Russia. There’s Nona Gaprindashvili, but she’s the female world champion and has never faced men.” The camera then focuses on a character in the audience who appears to resemble Gaprindashvili.
The problem with that statement is that the now 80-year-old Gaprindashvili, who became the first woman to achieve the title of chess grand master, actually bested several men over the course of her decades-long career. Gaprindashvili’s lawsuit argues that Netflix should have been aware of her history, seeking $5 million in damages, as well as the line’s removal from The Queen’s Gambit.
“The allegation that Gaprindashvili ‘has never faced men’ is manifestly false, as well as being grossly sexist and belittling,” the defamation suit, filed in a California federal court, states. The complaint points out that by 1968, Gaprindashvili “had competed against at least 59 male chess players (28 of them simultaneously in one game).” The suit also claims that the false assertion that Gaprindashvili didn’t play men has impacted her ongoing career, given the worldwide reach of Netflix’s series.
“Netflix brazenly and deliberately lied about Gaprindashvili’s achievements for the cheap and cynical purpose of ‘heightening the drama’ by making it appear that its fictional hero had managed to do what no other woman, including Gaprindashvili, had done,” lawyers for Gaprindashvili added. “Thus, in a story that was supposed to inspire women by showing a young woman competing with men at the highest levels of world chess, Netflix humiliated the one real woman trail blazer who had actually faced and defeated men on the world stage in the same era.”
According to the suit, Gaprindashvili reached out to Netflix about receiving an apology and removing the line from its show, to no avail. “This arrogant refusal to take responsibility for its actions was shockingly tone-deaf, given the sexism and offensiveness of its lie,” the complaint states. The company replied to the suit in a statement to The New York Times: “Netflix has only the utmost respect for Ms. Gaprindashvili and her illustrious career, but we believe this claim has no merit and will vigorously defend the case.”
The cultural impact of The Queen’s Gambit has been undeniable. Based on a 1983 novel by Walter Tevis, the series chronicles a woman’s journey to overcome her turbulent childhood by rising to the top of a male-dominated field. Since the show’s debut, it’s won a pair of Golden Globes, inspired a stage musical, swept multiple below-the-line categories at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys, and led to a rise in chess set sales. But the show has proved painful for Gaprindashvili. “This was an insulting experience,” she told the Times. “This is my entire life that has been crossed out, as though it is not important.”
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