In a brave public act, David Navara explains in details what he went through after the baseless allegations of Kramnik. Navara describes the emotional torture by Kramnik’s allegations, the silence of FIDE, their posterior inadequate reaction and total disregard on basic FIDE ethical and moral values.
Levon Aronian was one of the first to react to the open letter of David Navara. Now that Kramnik is threatening Navara with a lawsuit in the public space, Levon Aronian tries to reason with Kramnik and says, “My dear friend, I want to share something I feel that I haven’t yet shared with you. The last few years after you retired I to my surprise saw a different Vlad that I never knew. Vlad that may be because the new chess world does not appreciate you enough ( sports fans and organizations, unfortunately, have a very short memory). A person who faced so much public pressure has turned against the chess world. Vlad, brother, ask all of your chess friends, nobody thinks that what you are doing is good and pure. You are fighting your own demons, and I can understand how much it drains you both mentally and physically. A long time ago I read somewhere that most of the murders are committed because of disrespect. Vlad, guys like Danya, and David are not the ones that you should be having a vendetta against. I love them for what they are, perhaps a bit introverted but lacking any side of evil in them.” And continues “I know you as the biggest revolutionary when it comes to chess. You challenged every single dogma and proved that you understand the core of chess like nobody before or after you. I ask you, as a friend who has always been open and honest to you, please, challenge your convictions. You think you are saving chess from cheaters, but most of us see you as the guy with the hammer who thinks everything is a nail. We are a family, we can’t go on suing or threatening each other for some weird online analysis that in most cases doesn’t make sense. We all have many friends in the world of mathematics, if you want, let’s unite everyone and make a proper unbiased analysis, but let us start from a fresh page.” See the full statement of Levon Aronian below.
Timeline of events
23.05.2025 Navara publishes an open letter about Kramnik’s actions
23.05.2025 Reactions to Navara’s open letter – Aronian, Polgar, etc
23.05.2025 Navara and Kramnik to meet at FIDE World Rapid and Blitz
24.05.2025 David Navara, “I firmly believe that Mr Dvorkovich should resign”
24.05.2025 Kramnik, “I am deeply disappointed Navara participates in unjust PR campaign against me”
24.05.2025 Kramnik rage-blocks Chessdom over a comment on David Navara’s case
24.05.2025 Live: David Navara at French Top 16
25.05.2025 Kramnik admits to allegations, FIDE has grounds to act
25.05.2025 Open call to action for FIDE
26.05.2025 David Navara now has personal chess calendar
26.05.2025 Czech Chess Federation: We stand behind chess legend GM David Navara
28.05.2025 MrDodgy : “Kramnik bullies Navara, will he be satisfied if he ends in hospital or worse?”
29.05.2025 Emil Sutovsky : “I find Kramnik’s latest address to David Navara inhuman”
12.06.2025 David Navara: “When I heard Kramnik’s reaction, I slept really poorly”
26.06.2025 Official Statement of Hetman GKS Katowice Chess Club + Keti Tsatsalashvili of support of David Navara
28.06.2025 Levon Aronian addresses Kramnik’s lawsuit threats towards David Navara
29.06.2025 FIDE addresses the Kramnik vs Navara case
29.06.2025 The entire Nový Bor Chess Club stands firmly behind David Navara
29.06.2025 Prague International Chess Festival thanks cFIDE for taking a clear stance on Kramnik vs Navara
04.07.2025 David Navara in an interview with Greg Mustreader
08.07.2025 Average centipawn loss vs Avereage Relative Centipawn loss in Kramnik vs Navara
Context (28.05)
Kramnik is known to have published numerous articles and videos regarding cheating in chess. On multiple occasions he uses a small sample size. As a result, his conclusions may be perceived as accusations (this is the case in a multitude of well documented videos, articles, and opinions by experts here, here, here, here are just a few examples), allegations, or suspicions about cheating in chess, and even as insults to players’ professionalism. Despite how each individual perceives his words, on Chessdom, starting 25 May, we have adopted a term that Vladimir Kramnik used himself – allegations.
In accordance with established journalistic practices, we work with information and quotations from sources, including Kramnik himself. Kramnik has never contacted Chessdom via its official communication channel posted in the header of the website. Our attempt to contact Kramnik was futile and met with a swift block. The latest threats by Kramnik on social media leave little room for any good-faith discussions (further details to follow)
Regardless, we stand by accuracy, fairness, and independence of journalism and will continue reporting on the Kramnik – Navara case and its tremendous social importance.
