FIDE says way Vladimir Kramnik presents his points (on cheating in chess) brings a lot of harm to the community

Navara had written an open letter on May 23 after cheating insinuations from the Russian. In that letter, Navara wrote how he lost sleep after reading the comments from the former world champion and went into depression and had to take professional help from a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist.

Now, FIDE too has told Kramnik that “he must recognise that it is not just his opinion or questions – it is a very clear narrative, and coming from the former World Champion it could be ruinous for the careers and a very well-being of certain players.”

FIDE’s full statement on Vladimir Kramnik

As the world governing body of chess, FIDE takes the issue of fair play – both OTB and online – very seriously, especially considering the current widespread popularity of online platforms and their impact on the growth and development of the game worldwide.

In this regard, the methods publicly proposed by GM Vladimir Kramnik deserve careful review and assessment for practical applicability. FIDE will establish a dedicated task force to evaluate these methods and invites GM Kramnik to present the details of his approach and statistical data for an official FIDE evaluation.

At the same time, we are gravely concerned that the way Mr. Kramnik presents his points brings a lot of harm to the chess community. Mr. Kramnik must recognize, that it is not just his opinion or questions – it is a very clear narrative, and coming from the former World Champion it could be ruinous for the careers and a very well-being of certain players.

The current discourse has significantly affected such a respected member of the chess community as GM David Navara and has now led to a defamation lawsuit being filed by GM Kramnik against GM Navara.

We wish to emphasize once again that throughout his chess career, GM Navara has earned an unquestionable reputation as a paragon of a fair play. The chess community is well aware that David is a person of a great sensitivity and integrity, particularly vulnerable to any implication of unfair play.

Without entering into legal or stylistic analyses of the statements made, we believe that – above all – mutual respect and empathy among colleagues must take precedence. We are firmly convinced that the lawsuit against GM Navara should be withdrawn as soon as possible in the interest of the entire chess community. We sincerely hope that GM Kramnik will take this morally justified step, which we believe will be welcomed by the broader chess world.

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