Nona Gaprindashvili: Why The World's First Female Chess Grandmaster Sued Netflix

Nona Gaprindashvili had already made history long before Netflix ever dramatised it in 'The Queen's Gambit'. A trailblazing chess champion who shattered gender barriers in a male-dominated sport, she became a global icon through achievement, not fiction. That is why, decades later, she found herself taking on one of the world’s most powerful entertainment companies

In the final episode of The Queen's Gambit premiered in late 2020, a commentator refers to Gaprindashvili as "the female world champion and has never faced men". But the reality was that by 1968, the year in which that scene was set, Gaprindashvili had actually competed against at least 59 male chess players, including 10 grandmasters!

This led to a Gaprindashvili suing Netflix for what she says was a single line that diminished her real-life accomplishments and rewrote her legacy for millions of viewers.

Who Is Nona Gaprindashvili?

In the world of chess, where strategy and patience define greatness, Nona Gaprindashvili stands out as one of the most influential figures in history. Born on May 3, 1941, in Zugdidi, Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union), she grew up with a passion for the game.

Gaprindashvili was the youngest of six children and the only girl. Her family loved sports, and she often played games like football with neighborhood children, usually as goalkeeper. She learned chess at five from her father and by watching her brother play.

At eleven, she replaced her brother in a tournament when he couldn’t compete and impressed coach Vakhtang Karseladzé. Soon after, she moved to Tbilisi to train seriously. By age fourteen, she had already won the semi-final of the Women’s Soviet Union Championship.

She dominated women’s chess for more than a decade, holding the world championship title from 1962 to 1978. In 1978, she broke another barrier by becoming the first woman ever awarded the FIDE title of Grandmaster. Her legacy was formally recognized with her induction into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2013, followed by Georgia’s Presidential Order of Excellence in 2015.

A False Claim

When The Queen’s Gambit premiered in late 2020, it became one of Netflix’s most watched series ever, inspiring millions of viewers to take up chess. The show blends fictional storytelling with references to real chess figures from the 1950s and 1960s. 

In September 2021, at age 80, Gaprindashvili filed a lawsuit against Netflix in a U.S. federal court, seeking US$5 million in damages and the removal of the line from the series. The complaint accused the streamer of defamation and portraying her in a false light.

She also objected to the show implying she was Russian, when she is Georgian, and to the broader impact of the misinformation given the global audience of the series.After months of legal back-and-forth and public attention, the case did not go to a full trial.

In September 2022, Netflix and Gaprindashvili reached a confidential settlement, with neither side disclosing the terms. It means the dispute ended without a public judgment on damages or an admission of wrongdoing by Netflix.

Nona Gaprindashvili’s journey is not just the story of a chess champion, but of a woman who refused to be limited by expectations.

From a young girl replacing her brother in a tournament to becoming a world champion and later standing up in front of a global media giant, she has consistently defended both her talent and her legacy. Her life proves that real pioneers do more than win titles they protect the truth of what they achieved and ensure it is remembered correctly.

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