Why Did Vladimir Kramnik Accuse Daniel Naroditsky of Cheating?

The chess community is shocked by the sudden passing of American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky. While there are no concrete details about his death, some fans seemingly blamed Russian chess grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik for continuously attacking the younger player with his cheating allegations.

Daniel Naroditsky Fans Seemingly Blame Vladimir Kramnik For His Death

Charlotte Chess Center announced Naroditsky's 'unexpected passing' on X, formerly Twitter. The post also included an official statement from his family.

The announcement, however, did not mention any details as to how the talented chess player died. Instead, it highlighted the family's desire for fans to give them privacy as they navigate this 'extremely difficult time.'

The vague announcement left many wondering how Naroditsky died. Some speculated that Kramnik had something to do with it due to his non-stop attack against the younger chess grandmaster.

One even accused him of bullying Naroditsky and blamed the Russian chess grandmaster for the former's death.

'Sadly Daniel Naroditsky was bullied by @VBKramnik until he took his own life at the young age of 29. Vladimir Kramnik must be held accountable for this,' one wrote on X.

Another shared the same thought on Reddit.

'Kramnik accused Danya [Naroditsky] of cheating. Then Danya took it to heart (I won't speculate further, but I think it's safe to say he started being much more careful). And Kramnik may have caused all this,' the Reddit user wrote.

Why Did Vladimir Kramnik Accuse Daniel Naroditsky Of Cheating

Naroditsky and Kramnik are in the same space, as both are chess grandmasters. However, the latter, who is the World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2007, had been outspoken in questioning the former's gameplay.

Naroditsky, often called Danya, is also a commentator, coach, and popular chess streamer, showing off his skills and style on Twitch and YouTube. Kramnik had viciously accused him of cheating in his games in late 2024 and early this year.

In a post on X in October 2024, Kramnik challenged Naroditsky to play a game against him with a £37,301 ($50,000) bet. It seemed that Naroditsky ignored the proposal, so Kramnik shared statistics of Naroditsky and other players' games while questioning their alleged 'non-realistic performances.'

He added that it would require 'a lot of work to create [a] new generation anticheating system.'

In late 2024 and early 2025, Kramnik started a public campaign about 'statistical cheating' in an online class. He claimed to analyse games from various players, including Naroditsky, and said some results were not 'natural.'

GM Andy Woodward, who beat Naroditsky 15 times, was also accused of cheating by Kramnik. Due to this, many do not take Kramnik's allegations seriously because, per GothamChess, he 'accuses basically everyone of cheating,' Chess.com reported.

One commenter even joked that 'Being accused of cheating by Kramnik at this point is a compliment.'

Daniel Naroditsky Called Vladimir Kramnik 'Worse Than Dirt'

Naroditsky denied the cheating allegations against him. When he appeared on Take Take Take, the young GM admitted he was affected by the attacks, saying he was 'really sick of it' and would not 'tolerate any of the hate any longer.'

Naroditsky considered cheating 'the worst crime a chess player can commit.' He also clapped back at Kramnik and his supporters by calling them 'worse than dirt.'

'It's a reputation-ending crime to do it as a grandmaster. But to do what, you know, what Kramnik has done and what everybody who supports him have done, in my mind, morally, it makes you worse than dirt,' Naroditsky said, per Indian Express.

In a short video shared on Reddit, Naroditsky doubled down on his take against cheating.

'I don't want to be the cause of anguish for any top player,' he said.