The Queen’s Gambit may not have seen this legal move coming.
Soviet chess icon Nona Gaprindashvili has sued Netflix for $5 million claiming defamation and false light invasion of privacy. In court documents obtained E! News, Nona and her attorneys claim that a false statement was made in The Queen Gambit’s season one finale.
During the “End Game” episode, a statement is made that compares Nona’s real-life accomplishments to that of Anya Taylor-Joy‘s fictional character Beth Harmon. “The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex, and even that’s not unique in Russia,” a commentator quips as Beth plays in a white-knuckle match in Moscow. “There’s Nona Gaprindashvili, but she’s the female world champion and has never faced men.”
In court documents, Nona’s attorneys state: “The allegation that Gaprindashvili ‘has never faced men’ is manifestly false, as well as being grossly sexist and belittling. By 1968, the year in which this episode is set, she had competed against at least 59 male chess players.”
