Netflix settles lawsuit with Georgian chess Grandmaster over The Queen’s Gambit defamation claim -Kim Novak-Entertainment – Metro

Nona Gaprindashvili (right) had brought the case against Netflix after being mentioned in The Queen’s Gambit (Picture: Netflix; Reuters)

Netflix has settled a lawsuit with Georgian chess master Nona Gaprindashvili after she claimed she had been defamed in an episode of The Queens Gambit. 

Gaprindashvili, 81, had brought the case against the streamer, arguing that her accomplishments were belittled in the show when a chess announcer in The Queen’s Gambit incorrectly stated that she had ‘never faced men’. 

The chess champion, who was the first woman ever to be awarded the FIDE title Grandmaster, had in fact faced 59 male competitors by 1968, the year in which the series was set. 

Netflix had attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed, claiming that the creators had broad license under the First Amendment, however their claims were rejected by a federal judge who argued that fictional works are not protected from lawsuits if they defame real people. 

The streamer had appealed the ruling but the case was dismissed on Tuesday, with the terms of the settlement remaining undisclosed. 

Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, the attorney who represented Gaprindashvili in the case, told Variety: ‘The parties are pleased that the matter has been resolved.’

Gaprindashvili had actually faced 59 men by the year the series was set in (Picture: Associated Newspapers)

The Queen’s Gambit had incorrectly referenced her as not having played men (Picture: AP)

A spokesperson for Netflix echoed the statement, adding that the streamer is ‘pleased the matter has been resolved.’

Gaprindashvili had objected to a line in the final episode of The Queen’s Gambit in which Beth Harmon, a fictional American chess player played by Anya Taylor-Joy, becomes an international chess champion after defeating a male competitor at a tournament in Moscow, Russia. 

The announcer on the episode says that her opponent underestimated her, explaining: ‘The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex. 

‘And even that’s not unique in Russia. There’s Nona Gaprindashvili, but she’s the female world champion and has never faced men.’

Gaprindashvili had argued that the reference to her achievements was ‘grossly sexist and belittling,’ while Netflix countered that they had intended to recognise her rather than belittle her. 

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