Armenian chess grandmaster Levon Aronian made an emotionally-charged public appeal to his longtime friend and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, calling for reconciliation amidst a legal dispute that has shaken the chess community.
The letter follows Kramnik鈥檚 recent decision to file a civil defamation lawsuit in Geneva against Chess.com, chess news outlet Chessdom, and Czech grandmaster David Navara.
The case stems from allegations Kramnik made concerning online cheating in chess, which triggered significant backlash and raised questions about the handling of such accusations within the chess world.
Dear @VBkramnik
Forgive me for addressing you publicly, but I feel that the chess world and the new generation need to know about who you are and I want you to remember it as well.
Vlad, you have always been an inspiration to me and to the majority of people who know you, as鈥
鈥 Levon Aronian (@LevAronian) June 28, 2025
Addressing Kramnik directly in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Aronian began: 鈥淒ear VBKramnik, Forgive me for addressing you publicly, but I feel that the chess world and the new generation need to know about who you are鈥攁nd I want you to remember it as well.鈥
Aronian鈥檚 message served as both a personal reflection and a public call for healing. He spoke of his long-standing admiration for Kramnik, whom he referred to as one of his 鈥渃hess parents,鈥 acknowledging the Russian legend鈥檚 profound influence on his development as a player.
鈥淢y dear friend, I want to share something I feel that I haven鈥檛 yet shared with you鈥 The last few years after you retired, I, to my surprise, saw a different Vlad that I never knew.鈥
Describing Kramnik as a visionary who transformed the game, Aronian urged him to reconsider his current path.
鈥淚 know you as the biggest revolutionary when it comes to chess,鈥 he wrote. 鈥淵ou 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.鈥
Background: A Divisive Accusation
The controversy began earlier this year when Kramnik suggested, without hard evidence, that David Navara may have cheated during online games. In response, Navara published a heartfelt letter detailing the emotional toll the accusation had taken on his mental health. Rather than retract the allegation, Kramnik demanded legal redress or silence鈥攗ltimately opting to pursue legal action.
鈥淲e Are a Family鈥
Aronian鈥檚 message seeks to de-escalate the situation and promote unity in the chess world.
鈥淲e are a family,鈥 he wrote. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 go on suing or threatening each other for some weird online analysis that in most cases doesn鈥檛 make sense.鈥
鈥淟et us start from a fresh page.鈥