Hola darlings! Sorry I haven't been around all summer. Too busy planting, pruning, raking, killing sod web worms (over and over and over again), mowing, mulching, edging the lawn (what a chore THAT was, wowsers!), harvesting my bounty of veggies, etc. etc. Oh, and doing the COVID-19 cha cha trying to avoid getting a break-through infection.
I've been ignoring my blogs (I have two, one not related to chess/ancient board games/archaeological finds) ALL summer and now here we are in autumn, the Autumnal Equinox is just a few days away. I got busy about a week or so ago switching out the summer decor for that of autumn, "warming" up the house inside, so to speak, by adding cushy pillows in autumnal colors, adding soft afghans to snuggle under on a chilly night but not quite chilly enough to get a fire going in the fireplace or turn the heat on.
But, regardless of my negligence, I'm sure you all know that last knight (ha ha - pun!) an Emmy was awarded to Netflix's "The Queen's Gambit" for "Outstanding Limited Series" - HOORAY!
I'm sure you've also all read by now about the great GM Nona Gaprindashvili, born in (Soviet Union era) Georgia filing a law suit claiming she's been defamed, or something, as she was mentioned in "The Queen's Gambit" mini-series based onWalter Tevis's novel written in 1983.
Really? As if anybody familiar with chess, particularly with the history of the greatest female chessplayers, wouldn't have known who Gaprindashvili was! I don't have Netflix and haven't seen the mini-series, but I would have laughed out loud at the line about Gaprindashvili "not having faced" male chessplayers in Netflix's take-off of Tevis's novel. Frankly, I'm surprised the Grandmaster hasn't been on every news and entertainment show in the United States and Europe laughing at the comment made in the series, reminding everybody of the FIRSTS that she and she alone did, maybe making some money from appearances while reminding people that yes - formidable female chessplayers actually do exist! In any event, anybody who didn't know much or anything about chess but enjoyed the series wouldn't know that GM Nona Gaprindashvili is a real person, they would have thought her a fictional character taken out of Tevis's novel, if they ever even heard of Tevis's novel. So - where is the defamation? We'll see where this goes.
If you haven't already read more than enough about the Gaprindashvili law suit because there seem to be a kabillion articles out there in the internet universe about it, here are links to just a few of the articles in the United States:
From Yahoo Entertainment
Netflix Hit With $5M Suit Over "Sexism" of 'Queen's Gambit' Line About Soviet Chess Legend
By Dominic Patten
September 16, 2021
From The New York Times
A Chess Pioneer Sues, Saying She was Slighted in 'The Queen's Gambit'
By Matt Stevens
September 16, 2021
From The Washington Post
Netflix's 'The Queen's Gambit' said the first female Grandmaster 'never faced men.' Now she's suing.
By Julian Mark
September 17, 2021
