Tragic death of chess player Naroditsky sparks conspiracy theories and reproach

"Many chess players, led by world number one Magnus Carlsen, have linked the sudden death of U.S. grandmaster and commentator Daniel Naroditsky last Monday at age 29 to the attacks from Russian former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, who had been accusing Naroditsky of cheating since 2024. Kramnik, however, has denied the allegations he was in any way responsible for Naroditsky's death."

"[Kramnik] started going after Naroditsky so hard first of all, I don't think anybody thought Naroditsky was cheating I personally in private expressed that I was sorry for what he was going through and supported him. Probably should have done that publicly as well. The way he was going after Naroditsky was horrible," said Carlsen, who has yet to publicly apologize for his 2022 cheating accusations against another U.S. player, Hans Niemann, which ended in an out-of-court settlement."

"Following Naroditsky's death, Arkady Dvorkovich, president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE, which has 201 member countries), said he had warned Kramnik about his actions. Other people and I tried to convince Vlad [Kramnik] to change the tone and approach [of his accusations against Naroditsky], he told EL PAIS. Last Wednesday, Dvorkovich also released an official statement on the case: Human life and dignity are fundamental values shared by all of us."

Following the sudden death of U.S. grandmaster and commentator Daniel Naroditsky at age 29, many chess players linked the death to prolonged accusations of cheating by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Kramnik denied any responsibility for Naroditsky's death and said the event had been exploited to launch a cynical, unlawful campaign of harassment against him and his family. Magnus Carlsen publicly criticized Kramnik's treatment of Naroditsky and described the attacks as horrible, while noting his own past 2022 accusations that ended in a settlement. FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich said he warned Kramnik and emphasized human life and dignity.

Read at english.elpais.com