The world chess federation (FIDE) said on Wednesday (October 22, 2025) it was addressing former world champion Vladimir Kramnik’s public attacks on U.S. grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, whose sudden death this week at 29 has prompted outrage and calls for action.
The cause of Naroditsky’s death has not been made public.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky told Reuters the organisation was “looking into” Kramnik’s year-long campaign accusing Naroditsky of online cheating.
Naroditsky, a popular commentator and streamer, denied any wrongdoing and appeared visibly distressed in his final Twitch broadcast last weekend, where he referred to the toll the controversy had taken on him, according to the now-deleted video.
World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura condemned Kramnik’s conduct in a stream following Naroditsky’s death, using an expletive to denounce the Russian’s behaviour. Former world champion Magnus Carlsen told viewers in a separate broadcast that Kramnik’s treatment of Naroditsky was “horrible”.
Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin said on X that Kramnik “needs to pay for what he’s doing,” alleging that Naroditsky had been under “immense stress” from the accusations. Chess streamer Nemo Zhou also urged FIDE to intervene, calling the situation “unacceptable”.
FIDE expressed condolences to Naroditsky’s family and said it would honour him with a special award recognising his contributions as a player, teacher and commentator.
Kramnik, who has made similar public accusations against other players in recent years, told Reuters, “I’d rather tell the story in whole, no wish commenting on Emil Sutovsky statement, but will comment on FIDE president (Arkady Dvorkovich) statement, if it will appear.”
Kramnik, the world champion from 2000-07, is widely considered one of the greatest players in the sport.
Naroditsky, a Stanford graduate and former world under-12 champion whose parents were Jewish emigrants from the Soviet Union, was a leading figure in online chess with hundreds of thousands of followers across YouTube and Twitch. He finished ninth in last year’s blitz world championship.