The death of popular US chess personality Daniel Naroditsky has shocked the fraternity. The news was confirmed by his family, although no reason was cited. He was a 29-year-old Grandmaster, expert in speed chess, author and online educator. The chess community reacted and Indian GM Nihal Sarin’s remark was sensational. The 21-year-old accused former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of “kind of taking a life”.
Kramnik, who asked for an investigation after Naroditsky’s death and posted on social media earlier that he suspected the youngster to be under the influence of drugs, had accused him of cheating in online chess multiple times last year. Naroditsky had refuted that claim and dismissed it as “worse than dirt”. Sarin, however, said that Naroditsky was deeply impacted by that.
“He (Kramnik) has kind of literally taken a life,” Sarin was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Before that, he had taken to social media. “The relentless, baseless accusations and public interrogations he faced in recent months caused him immense pressure and pain. This has to stop. When respected figures spread unfounded allegations without accountability, real lives are destroyed,” he wrote on X. The last few online games Naroditsky played were against Sarin.
Saying that he too had been at the receiving end of Kramnik’s aspersions, Sarin added, “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.”
Sarin disclosed that Czech GM David Navarra is in bad shape and having “suicidal thoughts” after facing similar accusations from Kramnik and demanded he be sanctioned. “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.
Naroditsky was a popular figure and credited for taking chess to the masses. Grief poured in from the community. Among those who took to social media were world No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian — both representing the US. Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi and noted coach RB Ramesh also posted that they lost a person they were fond of.
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