Fide (the world chess federation) said on Wednesday (22) that it is reviewing former world champion Vladimir Kramnik’s public attacks on American grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, whose sudden death this week at the age of 29 sparked outrage and calls for action.
The cause of Naroditsky’s death has not been released.
Fide CEO Emil Sutovsky told Reuters the organization was “investigating” Kramnik’s year-long campaign accusing Naroditsky of online cheating.
Naroditsky, a popular commentator and streamer, denied any wrongdoing and appeared visibly distressed on his final Twitch stream last weekend, where he addressed the impact the controversy had on him, according to the now-deleted video.
World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura condemned Kramnik’s conduct in a broadcast following Naroditsky’s death, using an expletive to denounce the Russian’s behavior. Former world champion Magnus Carlsen told viewers in a separate broadcast that Kramnik’s treatment of Naroditsky was “horrible”.
Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin said on X that Kramnik “needs to pay for what he is doing”, claiming that Naroditsky was under “immense stress” due to the allegations. Chess streamer Nemo Zhou also called for Fide to intervene, calling the situation “unacceptable.”
Fide expressed condolences to Naroditsky’s family and said it would honor him with a special award recognizing his contributions as a player, teacher and commentator.
Kramnik, who has made similar public accusations against other players in recent years, told Reuters: “I would rather tell the whole story, I don’t wish to comment on Emil Sutovsky’s statement, but I will comment on the Fide president’s statement [Arkady Dvorkovich]if she appears.”
Kramnik, world champion from 2000 to 2007, is widely considered one of the sport’s greatest players.
Naroditsky, a Stanford graduate and former under-12 world champion whose parents were Jewish emigrants from the Soviet Union, was a leading figure in online chess with hundreds of thousands of followers on YouTube and Twitch. He finished ninth in last year’s world blitz championship.
