Netflix will face a $ 5 million defamation lawsuit from a chess master, who claims to have been defamed in the hit series "The Queen's Gambit".
Nona Gaprindashvili, the first woman to be named chess master, sued Netflix in September. Gaprindashvili claims that part of "The Queen's Gambit", where a character mistakenly says she "has never faced men", is "sexist and derogatory" .Gaprindashvili played against 59 male competitors until 1968, the year when events in the serial.
Compensation is sought because it is claimed to be a "destructive lie, diminishing and degrading its achievements in front of an audience of millions".
Netflix has previously demanded that the defamation lawsuit be dismissed, arguing that the series is fabricated. Netflix also added that it used two chess experts to verify the details in the series, noting that the reference to Gaprindashvili was intended to "recognize him, not belittle him," according to the platform's lawyers.
But the court's recent ruling found Gaprindashvili's argument reasonable, noting that fabricated shows are not protected from defamation if false information is given to real people. The lawsuit also noted that the film portrayed her as Russian, even though she is Georgian.
Gaprindashvili is now 80 years old and lives in Tbilisi, Georgia. "They were trying to make an imaginary character that was paving the way for other women, when in reality I had paved the way and inspired generations," Gaprindashvili said in an interview with the New York Times. "That's the irony."
She is the first woman to be awarded the title of Grand Master by the International Chess Federation.
"The Queen's Gambit", which won 11 Emmy Awards in 2021, is based on the 1983 novel by Walter Tevis. The series is based on the fictional character Beth Harmon, an American chess player played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who climbs the ladder in the chess game in the 60s.
