Former Women's World Chess Champion Nona Gaprindashvili is suing Netflix over a "humiliating" scene in their limited series The Queen's Gambit. The moment causing the controversy occurs in the series' seventh and final episode when a chess commentator mentions Gaprindashvili by name and claims that she never played against male opponents. In real life, Gaprindashvili played and won many games against men.
The Queen's Gambit is the (fictional) story of chess prodigy Beth Harmon, who fights her way to the top of the international chess scene while struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Netflix data shows the series was watched by more than 62 million viewers, and it caused an unprecedented resurgence in the popularity of chess. It was also an awards-season success that won 11 Emmys including the Outstanding Limited Series award.
Gaprindashvili's suit alleges defamation, calling the line saying she "has never faced men" a "devastating falsehood" and claiming the show damaged her reputation. During an hour-long video interview, she recalled how she was a trail-blazer for women in chess long before the existence of Beth Harmon. The lawsuit argues that Netflix "deliberately lied" to The Queen's Gambit's 62 million viewers in making it seem like, as of when the series takes place, no female players had accomplished what Harmon had.
The Queen's Gambit is based on a book by Walter Tevis that was published in 1983. The book also mentions Nona Gaprindashvili during the concluding section where Harmon plays at the Moscow Invitational tournament. However, it does not include the erroneous claim about Gaprindashvili's choice of opponents. Instead, it says that she had "met these Russian Grandmasters many times before."
Netflix issued a statement in response, stating that though they had the "utmost respect" for Gaprindashvili's achievements, her lawsuit was meritless. Gaprindashvili, in turn, argues that the series "crossed out" her entire career, one that she spent "fighting to get accepted." She wants the line in question removed, and is pursuing $5 million in damages.
The Queen's Gambit should be allowed to take the same creative liberties any other work of fiction would. After all, the Netflix show never claimed it's historically accurate. Still, it doesn't make sense why such an obvious falsehood about a real, living person would appear in the script in the first place. Gaprindashvili is an important figure in chess (she was even the first female player to earn the Grandmaster title), and it's understandable that she doesn't want one line from the series to define her legacy.
The Queen's Gambit is currently streaming on Netflix.
Source: The New York Times