‘Discussions can turn into harassment’: FIDE to probe Vladimir Kramnik’s public comments following Daniel Naroditsky’s death

FIDE president Dvorkovich admitted that public discussions on the chess forum can often lead to harassment, bullying or personal attacks and stated that the world chess body will probe all comments made by Vladimir Kramnik before and after the death of 29-year-old American GM Daniel Naroditsky.

FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich has said the chess body's ethics commission will refer Vladimir Kramnik's public comments (R) on the late Daniel Naroditsky (centre).

Following the death of 29-year-old American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky earlier this week, FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich on Wednesday confirmed that the world chess body will probe all public statements made by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik “before and after” the tragic incident.

Kramnik, who had previously accused Naroditsky of cheating in online chess, raised his suspicion of Naroditsky’s sudden passing and posted a series of explosive tweets questioning the circumstances.

The 50-year-old Russian GM hinted at potential substance abuse and deteriorating mental health. In a conversation with The Indian Express, Indian GM Nihal Sarin, the last player Naroditsky faced on the popular online forum chess.com, squarely blamed Kramnik, who had repeatedly accused the American player of cheating while playing online – an allegation that Naroditsky had firmly denied.

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Discussions can turn into harassment

In his statement issued on Wednesday, FIDE president Dvorkovich admitted that public discussions on the chess forum can often lead to harassment, bullying or personal attacks. Dvorkovich also confirmed that the FIDE Management Board will lead all of Kramnik’s public comments about Naroditsky for inspection by the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission.

“In recent times, public debate within the chess world has too often moved beyond the boundaries of acceptable, harming not only people’s reputation but their very well-being. When this happens, discussions can turn into harassment, bullying, and personal attacks — a particularly serious concern in today’s environment. The chess community has long respected the achievements of GM Vladimir Kramnik, and his contributions to our sport are undeniable. The same high standards that accompany great achievements, however, also confer a responsibility to uphold the principles of fairness and respect and to be ambassadors for the sport.

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“Therefore, I, along with the FIDE Management Board, will formally refer all relevant public statements made by GM Vladimir Kramnik — both before and after the tragic death of GM Daniel Naroditsky — to the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission for independent consideration,” wrote Dvorkovich.

After making a cryptic post last week on his X account that read, “Don’t Do Drugs”, Kramnik referred to a “strange recent stream” by Naroditsky, alleging the American had been hastily removing his recent content from Twitch.

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“Weird, noticed yesterday morning some people talking about strange recent stream of Naroditsky, but checking again in few hours,many things erased (ALL videis from his twitch, a thread about it, recognizable working style :) ) Anyone,what happened, that forced them act in a rush?,” Kramnik posted on X.

“All in all, typical nowadays world of chess, the only thing everyone cares about is “looking great” and pretending there are no issues. Even if its about long term major problems. Stop this doublefaced hypocries for once, and try helping to solve them. Image is NOT everything,” he added.