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Chess legend Nona Gaprindashvili sues Netflix over Queen’s Gambit and demands $ 5 million

The The Queen’s Gambit is considered one of the most successful series in the Netflix gaining over tens of millions of viewers on the platform in 2020. Based on a 1983 novel, the series focuses on the rise of fictional chess player Beth Harmon. In The Queen’s Gambit, Harmon grows up in an orphanage and, after learning to play chess as a child, begins a fantastic journey by dismantling whoever she faces, beating even Russia’s top players in the 1960s in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.

However, Queen’s Gambit, in addition to revenue and viewers, also brought trouble to Netflix. Chess legend Nona Gaprindashvili filed a lawsuit on the platform for what happened in the last scene of the last episode of the series.

A commentator watching Harmon play refers to the real chess star Gaprindashvili and her career. In the scene, which takes place in Moscow, a speaker is heard referring to Gaprindashvili by her name, “The only unusual thing for her is her gender. And even this is not unique to Russia. “There is Nona Gaprindashvili, but she is the female world champion and has never faced men.”

The lawsuit for $ 5 million

Now his pioneer chess sues Netflix for $ 5 million for defamation and breach of privacy. He claims that this scene is not documented and, in fact, he has played against dozens of men. Gaprindashvili called the dialogue “derogatory”.

“In addition, Netflix described Gaprindashvili as Russian, even though she knew she was from Georgia and that the Georgians had suffered from Russian rule when they were part of the Soviet Union, and had subsequently been intimidated and invaded by Russia,” the statement said. .

Chess legend says that by 1968, the year the episode took place, he had fought against at least 59 male chess players, including ten Grand Masters of the time. The complaint states that “Netflix brazenly and deliberately lied about Gaprindashvili’s achievements in cynical ‘enhancing the drama’, making it appear that the imaginary heroine of the series had managed to do what no other woman, including Gaprindashvili, had done.” .

Netflix responded to the lawsuit by saying in a statement to The LA Times: “Netflix has the utmost respect for Ms. Gaprindashvili and her illustrious career, but we believe that this allegation has no value and we will vigorously defend the case.”

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