Chess body investigating ex-world champion who accused Daniel Naroditsky of cheating

The International Chess Federation is investigating a Russian grandmaster for allegations of cheating he levied at fellow elite players, including 29-year-old U.S. grandmaster and YouTube sensation Daniel Naroditsky, who died earlier this week.

The world governing body for chess, known as FIDE, said Wednesday that it was looking into statements Vladimir Kramnik made “both before and after the tragic death of GM Daniel Naroditsky” to determine if the Russian chess legend should suffer disciplinary actions.

“In recent times, public debate within the chess world has too often moved beyond the boundaries of acceptable, harming not only people’s reputation but their very well-being,” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement on the organization’s website.

“When this happens, discussions can turn into harassment, bullying, and personal attacks — a particularly serious concern in today’s environment,” Dvorkovich added.

FIDE did not immediately respond to a request for comment detailing the steps of the investigation and what possible disciplinary action might be taken.

The news of Naroditsky’s death rocked the chess community and left many of his fans and supporters looking for answers.

The Charlotte Chess Center in North Carolina, where Naroditsky worked as a coach, did not immediately disclose a cause of death.

Naroditsky was remembered by his peers as a player of immense skill who remained humble despite his talents.

In addition to training other players, Naroditsky ran successful YouTube and Twitch accounts where he grew a fandom of fellow chess lovers and introduced the game to a new generation of players.

In what appeared to be his final stream on Twitch last week, Naroditsky appeared at times agitated and irritable as he described the stress that the Kramnik accusations had caused him. He explained why he felt the need to counter the Russian player’s public dispersions.

“And you know, then there’s of course people who will be like, ‘OK, sure, whatever, but how does that impact your livelihood? … Even if some GM [grandmaster] will think this like who cares?,’ ” Naroditsky said on the stream.

“That is shocking to me as well because that literally is what a legacy is. That is all I have,” he said.

“If I knew that some of the most influential movers and shakers of the chess world, you know, would carry the notion that I am a completely morally bankrupt individual, that would represent the complete failure of literally everything … my reason for waking up in the morning,” Naroditsky said.

On social media, Kramnik, a former world champion who is considered one of the all-time greats, described what he called the FIDE’s “insulting and unfair” “campaign” against him.

Naroditsky is not the first player to get ensnared in conflict with the Russian chess giant. The 50-year-old Kramnik has baselessly accused several of his younger competitors of cheating, resulting in his account on the popular site chess.com being muted in 2023.

In a series of ranting posts on social media on Wednesday, Kramnik doubled down on his accusations, writing: “From prominent players, you all know their names, but will not [disclose] it in public … #chessmafia must be held accountable.”

Kramnik wrote that Naroditsky supporters had been “falsely blaming” him for the chess streamer’s death and threatened legal action against people involved in making those claims.

Without citing any evidence, Kramnik alleged there were efforts to conceal the “real truth about the [circumstances] and cause of this [tragedy].”

To honor Naroditsky’s memory, FIDE announced this week it would establish a special prize in his name.