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Daniel Naroditsky death: Why Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik's explosive claims sparked a row
Kramnik faced backlash on X after being linked to Naroditsky’s 2024 cheating scandal; Naroditsky passed away Sunday, and cause of death remains unconfirmed.
Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik made series of explosive posts on X after he was linked to the death of American grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, who passed away on Sunday. Kramnik was linked to it over their infamous cheating scandal in 2024 where Kramnik accused Naroditsky of cheating in online chess.
A statement from Naroditsky's family was shared on social media by a Charlotte, North Carolina-based chess club on Monday. The cause of death was not revealed, and the circumstance of the death remains unclear.
Kramnik, after he was linked to his death, shared screenshot of a message he received from a "friend and chess fan" about Naroditsky possibly not being in the right state of mind during his last stream.
"What exactly happened?" Kramnik wrote in the caption of the post along with screenshot. "Because I received this two days ago from a friend of mine chess fan, and at least did what I could to warn people to do something urgently in my posts.
“To those who prefer blaming and shaming instead of helping. Awfull tradegy, hope properly investigated.”
Vladimir Kramnik's Cheating Allegations Against Naroditsky
Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik made a series of cheating allegations against Daniel Naroditsky in October 2024. According to MARCA, Kramnik, a former world champion, accused Kramnik of consulting a chess engine via a second screen to gain unfair advantage over his opponents.
Also read: Daniel Naroditsky cause of death: What happened to the chess grandmaster? Here's what we know
He also launched a GoFundMe to raise money for his campaign and wrote several essays and articles on the cheating allegations. The GoFundMe still remains active.
Naroditsky had responded to allegations calling Kramnik "worse than dirt" and said the talk around the allegations was affecting him adversely.
“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,” said Naroditsky has said on the 'Take Take Take' podcast.
