The court hearing between Vladimir Kramnik and publisher New in Chess (NiC) took place on the morning of August 18 in Amsterdam. NiC stated that they defended their article against accusations of defamation by Kramnik.

NiC explained that they stood by the content of the article and their right to publish it. Dutch law firm Kennedy Van der Laan provided NiC’s defence in court. The verdict in the case will be announced on September 1. NiC noted that they will not comment on the situation until the verdict is announced.

14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik filed a lawsuit against NiC on August 3. Kramnik accused NiC of defamation in their August 2025 issue.

The August issue featured Leon Watson’s article ‘A Very Public Feud’. In the article, Kramnik was accused of cyberbullying Daniel Naroditsky. Watson suspected Vladimir of using alt accounts to spread public comments, cited a critical comment from a friend of Kramnik, and more.

New in Chess is an international chess magazine and book publisher. NiC was founded in 1984 and is owned by Scottish GM Jacob Aagaard.

Credit: Mark Livshitz / FIDE