After a judge refused to dismiss the suit on Thursday, Netflix will face a $5 million defamation lawsuit from a Georgian chess master who claims she was defamed in the hit series The Queen's Gambit.

Nona Gaprindashvili, the first woman to be named a chess grandmaster, filed a federal lawsuit against the streaming service in September. Gaprindashvili claims a line from The Queen's Gambit in which a character incorrectly states that she "never faced men" is "grossly sexist and belittling." By 1968, the year the show is set, Gaprindashvili had faced 59 male competitors.

Damages are sought for what the suit describes as a "devastating falsehood, undermining and degrading her accomplishments in front of millions of people."

Netflix had previously requested that the defamation suit be dismissed, claiming that the series is a work of fiction and that the show's creators should be granted an artistic license under the first amendment.

According to Netflix's lawyers, the show used two chess experts to certify details in the series, and the reference to Gaprindashvili was meant to "recognize her, not disparage her." However, in a ruling reported by Variety on Thursday, US District Judge Virginia A Phillips found Gaprindashvili's argument to be reasonable, noting that works of fiction were not immune from defamation if real people were slandered.

“Netflix does not cite, and the Court is not aware, of any cases precluding defamation claims for the portrayal of real persons in otherwise fictional works,” wrote Phillips. “The fact that the Series was a fictional work does not insulate Netflix from liability for defamation if all the elements of defamation are otherwise present.”

The Queen's Gambit, which won 11 Emmys in 2021, is based on Walter Tevis' 1983 novel of the same name. The fictional limited series follows Anya Taylor-Joy's character, Beth Harmon, as she rises through the ranks of competitive chess in the 1960s.

Gaprindashvili is now 80 years old and resides in Tbilisi, Georgia. "They were trying to do this fictional character who was blazing the trail for other women when in reality I had already blazed the trail and inspired generations," Gaprindashvili told The New York Times in an interview. 

Moreover, the suit also stated that the film portrayed her as Russian, even though she is Georgian.