David Navara Opens Up About His Chess Career, Challenges, & Living With Asperger’s
One of the Czech Republic's greatest players of all time, GM David Navara, shared deep insights into his life, his passion for chess, and his experiences living with Asperger's syndrome.
IM Sagar Shah continues to deliver compelling stories to the chess world on ChessBase India's YouTube channel. In an 80-minute video with Navara released on Wednesday, he interviewed the 13-time Czech champion at his home outside Prague.
The conversation provided a fascinating glimpse into Navara, widely regarded as one of the most exceptional and well-liked grandmasters in the chess world today due to his friendly and authentic personality.
Navara learned chess at the age of six by discovering a chess book with the rules. He quickly started winning junior titles after working with Czech GMs Ludek Pachman and Vlastimil Jansa. Pachman, the prolific chess author, once said that Navara’s devotion and love for chess was rivaled only by Bobby Fischer.
After becoming an international master at 14, and a grandmaster at 16, it only took another five years until he had broken the 2700 barrier for the first time in 2006. That same year, as a 21-year-old, he reached 13th in the world, his peak ranking to date.
While being ranked among the world's top 15 with a peak rating is 2751 from May 2015, he has never been close to making it into the world’s top five. He addressed this candidly in the interview. "I think I had the potential to reach top 10, not for long, but for some time. I didn't use my potential," he said.
"I think I was never good enough to reach the top five in the world,” he added. He noted players close to his generation such as GMs Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian, who performed significantly stronger, were more stable than him.
I think I was never good enough to reach the top five in the world.
Navara talked about how six years of studying math, logic, and languages also affected his chess. "I was much more talented as a chess player than in mathematics," he said. "Or maybe I had talent, but something was missing. I wasn't solving puzzles as well, I was not as enthusiastic or spending as much time on it. I don't know, but something was missing. It's not that I was a bad student, but I was not a great student," he said.
He also noted how he felt intense pressure while being in the top 15 at a young age. "Also, I wasn’t as mentally stable." His health also played a negative role. "I had some minor health issues, nothing too serious, but small problems that could occasionally cost me points.”
Navara was never particularly eager to break into the world's top 20 while being ranked in the top 30s. "I just wanted to finish university, and I was happy to stay among the top 30s. When I dropped lower, I worked harder, but I was not obsessed with climbing significantly higher."
Today, Navara is ranked 60th in the world with a rating of 2663. While he acknowledges that a different focus on chess might have propelled him higher, he has no regrets about his decisions. "I’m glad I studied and met other intelligent people. And then, of course, forgot everything!” he joked.
I’m glad I studied and met other intelligent people. And then, of course, forgot everything!
Navara has played some truly spectacular games in his career. One memorable game was against GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek in Biel 2015. He describes it as "special and interesting", adding: "I was proud of it, but maybe not as much afterwards. It was a big fight, and he made the last mistake."
Another masterpiece, is his queen sacrifice against GM Ivan Cheparinov in 2007. "It was not exactly forced, and not completely clear and there were some mistakes, but it was quite an attractive game," he said.
The Czech grandmaster also shared his passion for books, an influence he inherited from his father, a mathematician, and his mother, a dentist. He has rows of books in Czech, English, and Russian, a language he decided to learn at the age of 15 when the German class was full.
Navara has now added "book writer" to his CV, co-authoring The Secret Ingredient: To Winning at Chess with GM Jan Markos. In 2024 My Chess World, a game-collection preceded by accompanying texts, and Lessons on Uncompromising Play, a book about mastering strategies for winning, were published as well.
In the end, Shah asked Navara about being "on the spectrum," a form or degree of autism which is a condition related to brain development that "impacts how a person perceives and socializes with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication," according to Mayo Clinic.
The 39-year-old was quick to respond: “I probably have Asperger’s Syndrome, which is typical for slightly eccentric geniuses,” he said, adding, "Not that everybody would be very clever, I am not a genius myself!"
I probably have Asperger’s Syndrome, which is typical for slightly eccentric geniuses. (...) I am not a genius myself!
He went on to explain: "They often have difficulties in understanding other people, understanding their schoolmates. I was lucky with my schoolmates. I was attending some mathematical schools, there were many people similar to me in this respect, with quite a mathematical talent."
He described his younger self as “a small, asocial child,” albeit with some exaggeration. However, he made a conscious effort to develop social skills. “I had to learn a lot to understand others better. I wanted to have good relationships with people because it’s simply better to be friendly than not to be friendly.”
Grandmaster David Navara:
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) March 12, 2025
"I probably have Asperger's Syndrome, which is typical for slightly eccentric geniuses. Not that everybody would be very clever - I am not a genius. Those are people who are very much focused and concentrated on one thing. They often have some unusual… pic.twitter.com/4BZx6c6VvK
Although he has never received a formal diagnosis, Navara discovered Asperger’s syndrome much later in life. “When I was young, the term was not well known. I only learned about it as an adult. Maybe it would've helped me back then. Probably I have this syndrome, but there are people who have more symptoms than me. My fascination with chess—while unusual—helped me reach where I am today. And in many respects, I like where I am.”
Navara said he had difficulties dealing with online trolling at first, "It was tough for me. I am not the most stable person. Over time I have gotten used to it, but it can still be unpleasant."
It was tough for me. I am not the most stable person. Over time I have gotten used to it, but it can still be unpleasant.
He noted he has been lucky in life, having great friends, parents, and coaches. He summed up what chess means for him: "It's my profession and my hobby. It's my way of self-fulfillment. I have many friends in the chess world."
Navara said that while he intends to do more coaching, he wants to continue playing chess actively. The grandmaster is among the top seeds in the European Championship, which begins in Romania on Saturday.
