Vladimir Kramnik has been embroiled in a controversy recently, regarding accusations of cheating in online chess. The former world champion has been on a crusade against cheating in online chess, with baseless accusations. Daniel Naroditsky was one of his most prominent victims, and since the American GM’s recent death, the criticism has been heavy on Kramnik.
Many chess players also took to social media after Naroditsky’s death and slammed Kramnik for his accusations. In the past, Naroditsky even publicly revealed that those accusations took a tremendous toll on his mental health.
Garry Kasparov slams Vladimir Kramnik
Speaking on a Russian show, chess legend Garry Kasparov broke his silence on Naroditsky’s death and slammed Kramnik.
“It’s absolutely clear that the campaign which Kramnik conducted has influenced Danya. Vladimir behaved strangely in this situation and not only in this one, This stain is indelible now. If we meet, I most likely won’t shake his hand,” he said.
“Over the past few years he’s been almost exclusively occupied with trying to catch someone, to pin someone down. It’s clear that the campaign Kramnik has been running affected Naroditsky, Moreover, Kramnik kept fuelling it. He made a statement that if Fide takes any action, he’ll sue them. I don’t know how he can appear at any chess tournament now. He’s become untouchable.”
Pointing out that Kramnik’s behaviour towards Naroditsky was horrible, he said, “Unfairly? It was absurd. Danya was one of the most transparent players around — he streamed, he explained every move, he played Blitz at 3000-plus for years. To accuse him based on some statistical model which even its creator says is preliminary? That’s not serious chess analysis, that’s character assassination. Kramnik didn’t just question moves, he questioned integrity without evidence. And when Danya responded calmly with data, Kramnik doubled down. That’s not how a world champion behaves. That’s how a bitter man behaves.”
“I don’t know what’s driving Vladimir. Maybe frustration from the new generation, maybe the online era he never mastered. But using his name to hunt players — especially young American GMs who grew up on Twitch — is destructive. He could have raised concerns privately with Fide. Instead, he went public, over and over, with incomplete data. Now the community doesn’t trust him, and rightly so,” he added.
