Justified lawsuit or clever move?
The Netflix mega-hit “The Queen’s Gambit” (named after a frequently played chess opening, original title: “The Queen’s Gambit”) won two Golden Globes, broke international ratings records and triggered a worldwide chess hysteria!
But there is a woman who is bothered by the hype surrounding the series: the former Georgian world chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili (80). The reason: Your person plays a role in the successful series – and in Gaprindashvili’s opinion that is completely misrepresented.
Now she is suing Netflix for defamation for five million dollars (around 4.26 million euros)!
Chess world champion Nona Gaprindashvili – here in 2005Photo: Imago / Kohlmeyer
In the lawsuit filed with a California court on Thursday, the streaming giant is accused of having falsified Gaprindashvili’s performance in the fictional series “shamelessly and deliberately”.
It is about the last episode of “The Queen’s Gambit”, in which Gaprindashvili is mentioned by name by a speaker during a chess tournament.
The statement is made that she never played against men.
This is what “Das Damengabit” is all about: Beth (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) is a gifted chess player, defeating all of her opponents in record time in her first tournaments. She quickly mixes up the male-dominated world ranking leaguePhoto: Phil Bray / Netflix
In truth, however, the world chess champion competed against a large number of top male players – and defeated a total of 28, according to the lawsuit. To make matters worse, Gaprindashvili was described in the “Queen’s Gambit” as a Russian instead of a Georgian.
At the age of 20, Nona Gaprindashvili became world champion and was able to defend the title four times! In 1978 she was finally appointed grandmaster by the world association FIDE as the first woman.
Nona Gaprindashvili was one of the most outstanding chess players in her active time. In addition, she was the first woman to acquire the title of grandmaster in chess in 1978Photo: CC0 / Hans Peters / Anefo / Wikimedia Commons
In “The Queen’s Gambit”, however, it is the fictional character Beth Harmon who shines as a female chess genius – at a time when this sport was reserved for men who smoke cigarettes.
Netflix said in a statement that it had “the greatest respect for Ms. Gaprindashvili and her brilliant career”. However, the allegations have no value and the case is being vigorously defended.
It is understandable that Gaprindashvili is annoyed that her outstanding achievements are being put under a bushel. However, for a gripping storyline, you probably wanted to work with an equal competitorin waive.