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'Worse than dirt': American grandmaster hits back at Vladimir Kramnik over 'cheating' allegation
America chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky did not mince his words as he slammed former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.
America chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky did not mince his words as he slammed former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, calling him "worse than dirt." Daniel's comments come following another accusation of cheating in the ongoing World Rapid and Blitz Championship.
Daniel Naroditsky opened up on how the accusations and social media chatter about him continue to affect him every time he plays online chess.
Speaking on 'Take Take Take', the American said, "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.”
“It’s definitely… I mean, I don’t think I’m good… You know, not good enough of a person, but thick-skinned enough to say, honestly, that that isn’t affecting me at all. I would be, you know, failing the lie detector test if I said that," he added.
Speaking further, he said, "I’ve been nice and civil and courteous to this army of troglodyte lowlifes for way too long. I’m really sick of it. I’m not going to tolerate any of the hate any longer."
'Relationships affected with top players'
Naroditsky also made a candid admission, saying the accusations of cheating have affected his personal relationships with the other top players.
“I feel like it would be improper for me to say that I am owed any support by anybody. Like, you don’t have to get your feet dirty. You know, get your hands into the dirty swamp. I totally get that. Unfortunately, I think there’s a lot of two-facedness in the chess world. Sorry, I’m not too eloquent," he said.
“A lot of players are on the surface very supportive. But behind the scenes, I think, are kind of either fanning the flames or hold their own suspicions. I completely understand that online chess is a new sphere," he added.
Earlier, Vladimir Kramnik said that he believes cheating goes on in blitz games. He keeps on posting what he calls "evidence" of deceit in online games.
Earlier, he was called out by American GM Hikaru Nakamura. He said the former world champion does not "have a brain."
