In 1968, Nona Gaprindashvili was the only female chess player to enter the International Tournament in Gothenburg, Sweden. Throughout the tournament, she sat across from nine men and topped seven of them, placing third overall.
Recapping Gaprindashvili s success, the New York Times noted the chess player s never-say-die spirit.
As it happens, 1968 is the same year that Beth Harmon, the fictional heroine of the blockbuster Netflix series The Queen s Gambit, was the only female competitor at a respected chess tournament set in Moscow. But during one scene at the tournament, a commentator remarked on how unusual it was that Harmon, a woman, was competing. Then he said: There s Nona Gaprindashvili, but she s the female world champion and has never faced men.
