The Soviet and Georgian chess player Nona Gaprindashvili, the first woman to be awarded the title of international grandmaster among men, has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, which released the TV series Queen's Move based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis.

As stated in the statement filed on September 16, in the final series of the mentioned tape, the achievements of the main character, the fictional chess player Beth Harmon, are compared with those of Gaprindashvili.

“The only thing that can be called unusual in her is her gender, and even this is not unique for Russia.

There is Nona Gaprindashvili, although she is the world champion among women and has never played in matches with men, ”says the commentator after the screen fight between Harmon and the fictional Soviet grandmaster Viktor Laev.

The lawsuit states that this statement "is manifestly false and also constitutes gross sexism and is derogatory."

It is reported that the episode takes place in 1968, and by that time Nona Gaprindashvili was competing with no less than 59 male chess players (including a simultaneous session with 28 of them).

The document notes that among them were the grandmasters Dragolyub Velimirovich, Svetozar Gligoric, Paul Keres, Boyan Kuraitsa, Boris Spassky, Viswanathan Anand and Mikhail Tal (the last three were world champions).

This statement raises certain questions for the drafters of the lawsuit, since Gaprindashvili did meet with Anand, but this happened in 1988, and in 1968 the future world champion was not even born yet.

At the same time, the lawsuit emphasizes that the data on the career of the Soviet chess player were well known to the authors of the series both from Tevis's novel and thanks to the consultants who worked on the project - Garry Kasparov and Bruce Pandolfini.

It is argued that the filmmakers allegedly deliberately distorted the facts in order to enhance the dramatic component of the picture and show that the main character was able to do something that no woman had previously been able to do.

"Netflix humiliated the only true female pioneer who, at that time, really played against men and beat them at the world level," - said in an appeal to the Californian court.

Its authors believe that filmmakers should not have mentioned Gaprindashvili in this context, but instead use a fictional character or simply refrain from slanderous statements.

  • Shot from the TV series "Queen's Move"

  • © Shot from the series "Queen's Move" 2020.

According to the statement, Nona Gaprindashvili expressed her displeasure to Netflix after the premiere of the series and demanded a public apology from the company and a denial of the information provided.

However, studio representatives responded "with extraordinary arrogance, rejecting Gaprindashvili's libel claim and stating that the false statement is" harmless. "

“Such an arrogant refusal to be held accountable for their actions was shockingly inappropriate given the sexist and abusive nature of these lies,” the lawsuit says. "Netflix lied seriously and obviously about Gaprindashvili, casting doubt on her professional reputation by falsely claiming that she did not play matches against men, thus implying that she lacked the skills to compete successfully against men."

The text states that the statement made in the series "the defendants, claiming the opposite in their lies about her, caused her professional reputation and image blatant damage", as a result of which Gaprindashvili lost the opportunity to constantly participate in professional life in the chess world and lost a significant part of her income.

In addition, "the defendants' false statement about her career caused her serious mental shock."

The chess player demands from Netflix compensation for damages in the amount of at least $ 5 million.

Commenting on the filing of the lawsuit, a Netflix spokesman said the company intends to defend itself in court.

"Netflix has extremely great respect for Ms. Gaprindashvili and her brilliant career, but we believe that this claim has no basis, and we will actively challenge it," Deadline quotes him.

The Queen's Run, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, was released on Netflix in the fall of 2020.

It tells the story of a young chess player, Beth Harmon.

On her professional path, the heroine has to cope with emotional problems, as well as struggle with addiction to alcohol and pills.

The tape turned out to be extremely successful.

In November 2020, she set the record for the most watched miniseries on the set.

In the first 28 days, the show was included from 62 million accounts.

Queen's Move entered the top 10 in 92 countries and topped the rankings in 63 countries.

In addition, the series received high marks from both film critics and the general audience (its rating on the Rotten Tomatoes portal is 96% and 94%, respectively) and has been awarded many prestigious awards. Among them - eight Primetime Emmy statuettes and two Golden Globes - in the nominations for Best Miniseries or Television Film and Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film.