Vladimir Kramnik denies wrongdoing in death of US chess star Daniel Naroditsky

Vladimir Kramnik has broken his silence following the death of American grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, calling the 29-year-old’s passing a tragedy while accusing critics of mounting an “unprecedentedly cynical and unlawful campaign of harassment” against him and his family.

The 50-year-old former world champion, who has faced widespread condemnation for accusing Naroditsky of online cheating without evidence, expressed condolences but denied any personal attacks.

“Despite the tensions in our relationship, I was the only person in the chess community who, noticing on video Daniel’s obvious health issues a day before his death, publicly called for him to receive help,” Kramnik wrote in a statement on X. “The subsequent attempts, immediately following his passing, to directly link this tragic event to my name … cross all boundaries of basic human morality.”

Kramnik said his earlier calls for a review of Naroditsky’s online play had been ignored “despite a significant amount of evidence”, and claimed he would provide material to “any relevant authority”, He said his lawyers were preparing civil and criminal suits over “false accusations” that have led to threats against him and his family.

He added that he welcomed what he described as a criminal investigation in the United States into the circumstances of Naroditsky’s death and offered to assist with “important non-public information”. Kramnik closed by asserting that he was “in good physical and mental condition” and “under no circumstances” planned to take his own life.

The death of Naroditsky may have been the result of a drug overdose and is being investigated as a possible suicide, according to a police report released Thursday. A report from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department says Naroditsky was found dead Sunday evening and describes the case as a “Death/suicide/overdose/Sudden/Natural Death Investigation”.

“On Sunday October 19th at approximately 07:11pm officers responded to an assist medic call in the area of 9000 Colin Crossing,” the report says. “Upon arrival an unresponsive subject was located and later pronounced deceased by a medic.”

Naroditsky was discovered at his home by close friends, grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk and Charlotte Chess Center founder Peter Giannatos. The pair had gone to check on him after he stopped responding to calls and messages.

“I found him dead in his house,” Bortnyk said in a stream this week. “We came to check because he wasn’t answering, and we found him dead on the couch.”

Naroditsky, one of the most popular streamers and commentators in the chess world, was found dead last weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he served as head coach and grandmaster-in-residence at the Charlotte Chess Center. Police have not disclosed a cause of death.

A Stanford-educated prodigy and former world youth champion, Naroditsky amassed over 800,000 followers on Twitch and YouTube. Known as Danya, he was celebrated for his humor, clarity and humility, becoming a leading voice in chess’s pandemic-era boom. He was also one of the world’s finest players under shorter time controls, finishing ninth at last year’s blitz world championship in New York.

Naroditsky consistently denied the allegations but acknowledged the toll they had taken on his mental health. “Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst,” Naroditsky said in his final livestream.

Anger over Kramnik’s conduct has dominated the chess world. Hikaru Nakamura called his behavior “disgusting”, while five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen described it as “horrible”. Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin, who played Naroditsky in his final online match, accused Kramnik of “taking a life,” saying his vigilante campaign against suspected cheaters was ineffective and “completely unacceptable”.

Kramnik, who dethroned Garry Kasparov in 2000 and held the world title for nearly seven years, has made similar cheating accusations against other players. In 2023 Chess.com banned him from posting, citing “baseless and damaging” claims.

The International Chess Federation (Fide) said this week it was “looking into” Kramnik’s behavior. “The way Kramnik approaches it simply can’t be accepted,” Fide chief executive Emil Sutovsky told Reuters. The federation plans to honor Naroditsky with a memorial award.

Fide president Arkady Dvorkovich later confirmed that all of Kramnik’s public statements about Naroditsky, before and after his death, would be referred to the organisation’s Ethics and Disciplinary Commission “for independent consideration”.

“Human life and dignity are fundamental values shared by all of us,” Dvorkovich said in a statement. “The chess community has long respected the achievements of GM Vladimir Kramnik, but such stature brings a responsibility to uphold the principles of fairness and respect.”

Sutovsky, meanwhile, faced his own backlash after posting a message on X that critics saw as blaming the community for not helping Naroditsky while he was alive. The remarks drew heavy backlash from prominent chess streamers like Anna Cramling and Nemo Zhou, who called the comments “disgusting” and urged him to resign.

Naroditsky’s family have said they hope he is remembered not for the hostility he endured but for “the joy and inspiration he brought people every day”. Carlsen called him “a resource to the chess community”, while Nakamura described him as “the best of us”.