GothamChess (Levy Rozman) is an American chess player, International Master (IM), and one of the most popular chess video bloggers and streamers in the world. He was born on December 5, 1995, in Brooklyn, New York. His mother is from Russia, and his father is from Ukraine. Levy is fluent in Russian.
Levy Rozman's stance on the war in Ukraine
Following the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, GothamChess publicly condemned the Russian invasion and took an anti-war stance. On February 25, 2022, Levy Rozman published a video on his YouTube channel commenting on the war in Ukraine:
Today Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. <...> All I can say is, I'm sure many right now are feeling a huge sense of anxiety. Anxiety over what this means for the citizens of Ukraine — innocent people who will die for absolutely nothing.
To wage an armed conflict of this magnitude in 2022 is simply a tragedy. <...> My heart breaks for the citizens of Ukraine. <...> I just want the people in Ukraine to be okay. And I wish the people in Russia who are going out to protest find some semblance of safety, because I know how damn hard that is to do in Russia.
In the video, Rozman also noted Russian chess players who spoke out against the war, including Ian Nepomniachtchi, Andrey Esipenko, and Peter Svidler, emphasizing that taking such a stance requires courage.
Reaction to Sergey Karjakin's stance
In March 2022, Rozman supported Sergey Karjakin's disqualification for supporting the war, which cost the Russian his spot in the Candidates Tournament. Levy reacted wryly on social network X, offering to "volunteer as tribute" and lose over 20 games to Ding Liren to help the Chinese grandmaster meet the FIDE minimum game requirement and replace Karjakin at the tournament.
Charity and fundraising for Ukraine
In March 2022, Levy Rozman along with Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura took part in a charity stream in support of Ukrainians. Thanks to the chess community, $132,724 was raised for the CARE Ukraine Crisis Fund, with the initiative supported by the Chess.com platform.
From the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Levy Rozman (GothamChess) publicly condemned the war, expressed support for Ukrainians, participated in fundraising for humanitarian aid, and criticized representatives of the chess community who supported the Russian aggression.
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