Netflix settles ‘The Queen's Gambit’ defamation suit with Georgian chess champion

Netflix has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed by a Georgian chess master who alleged that she was defamed in an episode of the streaming channel’s record-breaking hit series, The Queen’s Gambit.

Chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili claimed that her accomplishments were ridiculed when a chess announcer in the Netflix series wrongly stated that she had “never faced men.”

According to Gaprindashvili, she had faced 59 male competitors by 1968, the year in which the series was set.

The suit was first filed in the Federal District Court in Los Angeles September 2021, and Netflix had tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming that the show’s creators had a broad license under the First Amendment.

In January, a federal judge rejected that argument, holding that fictional works are not immune from lawsuits if they defame real people. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but both parties were apparently satisfied with the result, according to Variety.

“The parties are pleased that the matter has been resolved,” said attorney Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, who represented Gaprindashvili.

A Netflix spokesperson also said, “We are pleased the matter has been resolved.”

The Queen’s Gambit portrays Beth Harmon [played by Anya Taylor-Joy], a fictional American who becomes an international chess champion.