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Journalism of Courage
The death on Monday of New York Times columnist and educator Daniel Naroditsky, who was once hailed as a chess prodigy while becoming a Grandmaster at 18, has sparked a buzz online. There is a growing refrain that the American GM, who was 29, was under severe stress after allegations of cheating were levelled against him by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.
Now, a prominent Indian voice has joined the chorus.
Indian GM Nihal Sarin, who was the last player Naroditsky faced on the popular online forum chess.com, squarely blames Kramnik who had repeatedly accused the American player of cheating while playing online – an allegation that Naroditsky had firmly denied.
“He (Kramnik) has kind of literally taken a life,” Nihal told The Indian Express. The 21-year-old Indian is an expert at blitz chess, like Naroditsky, with both having played each other in over 2,000 games online.
Recalling their final face-off on chess.com, Nihal said, “His last games were against me. That day, we played a bit in the morning and then there were our last games at night. We were also talking about a few things. He said he was under immense stress due to a lot of baseless accusations — headed by Kramnik, of course. Apparently, unfortunately, quite a few others also seem to have joined in… I can totally imagine the pain he was going through and it has been going on for a very long time. I had thought he’s a very strong guy. I didn’t think he would get affected so easily.”
The Indian GM acknowledged Russian GM Kramnik’s greatness as a chess player. “He’s a great player, a world champion… He gave a lot to chess. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, without any doubt. But these days, the harm he’s causing…,” he said.
Nihal, too, was targeted with allegations of cheating in online games but was able to tide over the crisis. “Fortunately for me, my friends, coaches, they immediately defended me. I had quite a bit of a support system. Unfortunately, Naroditsky was not having that… I was aware that I had some really good results. I was kind of waiting for it. I knew Kramnik would come after me someday,” he said.
Nihal also said there should be zero tolerance when it comes to “cheating” but there was a way of dealing with the problem. “Cheating in chess is a huge problem. But what Kramnik does is completely unacceptable. He just blurts out accusations every day… He was a world champion, a very influential figure after all. And I don’t know if he realises the impact it can have on innocent people. Kramnik’s methods, it seems like, you burn down a city to catch some cheaters, basically. You kill some thousand other completely innocent guys to get one or two guys,” he said.
The Charlotte Chess Center in North Carolina, where Naroditsky trained and taught, announced his death on social media, calling him “a beloved member of the chess community” who should remembered for his “passion and love for the game of chess, and for the joy and inspiration he brought to us all every day.”
But reports emerging from the US were silent on the cause of Naroditsky’s death. Even then, Kramnik continued to target him, hinting at potential substance abuse and deteriorating mental health. Taking to X, Kramnik posted: “Don’t Do Drugs”. He then referenced a “strange recent stream” by Naroditsky.
According to Nihal, Kramnik has others on his radar, too. “He’s after Czech grandmaster David Navara… Navara is struggling… I am most worried about him right now. I don’t know how to say this, but I sincerely hope that Kramnik gets some big sanctions. I don’t know how, but he really needs to pay for what he’s doing to others. Navara is the nicest guy in chess… since a long time, he has been having some psychological issues and he has even mentioned that these accusations made him feel suicidal… he wrote to FIDE asking for some sanctions against Kramnik and nothing happened,” he said.
Nihal, a two-time chess.com junior speed chess champion, then gets emotional while talking about Naroditsky. “Why would somebody like Naroditsky cheat? And that is a question that guys like Kramnik can just very conveniently ignore… I cannot process how messed up some of these minds are. I don’t understand what you get from this? What do you get from ruining anyone’s life? Now, (Kramnik is) almost directly responsible for taking one.”
