Content warning: This article includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is available from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US), Crisis Services Canada (CA), Samaritans (UK), Lifeline (AUS), and other hotlines.
Earlier this week news broke of the death of Daniel 'Danya' Naroditsky, a 29 year-old chess grandmaster who was also a popular teacher and commenter in the increasingly online world of chess. The player's family announced Naroditsky's "unexpected" death in a statement that went on to describe him as a "cherished member of the chess community, admired and respected by fans and players around the world."
Naroditsky's body was discovered by a friend. Police have said they are awaiting toxicology results to confirm whether the cause of death was an accidental overdose or suicide. They do not suspect any criminal activity.
Naroditsky was a serious talent: an under-12 world champion who earned the grandmaster title in his teens, a US junior champion, an author and columnist on the game, and someone whose charm and easy manner found a large online following.
In the days since his death, however, the chess world has focused on a darker side of Naroditsky's online life. In his final Twitch stream, Naroditsky referenced cheating allegations that had repeatedly been levied against him by another grandmaster, denying them and discussing the toll they'd taken on his life. In his final YouTube video he is notably distressed and haggard towards the end.
Those cheating accusations are now at the centre of what is becoming an ugly row, with the chess world's great and good seemingly ready to go to war: and determined that one individual faces consequences.
In chess, there are few players like the Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik. Kramnik is a former Classical and undisputed world champion, one of the greatest players of the modern era, and in recent times has become obsessed with rooting out cheating in chess.
Cheating is an incendiary accusation in any game, but in chess the problem is that we all walk around with a supercomputer in our pocket. You could sit down opposite Magnus Carlsen, the world's greatest player, and as long as you had Stockfish on your phone beat him handily in every single game.
Obviously IRL tournaments have safeguards to ensure such things can't happen (and accusations of cheating in chess existed long before the smartphone era), but when it comes to online tournaments in particular it's nearly impossible to control. A huge amount of the modern game, online at least, comes down to the personal integrity of players. And it means that accusations of cheating often come backed-up with statistics and 'analysis' to try and prove the point.
Chess now has a whole online ecosystem where players can make more from their online presence than the actual FIDE tournaments. Like many esports pros, contemporary grandmasters double-up as influencers and personalities, and like every other ecosystem they chase audience engagement. A topic like cheating is box office in this context, something that has the potential to explode into the mainstream (as it did with Hans Niemann/Carlsen), and attracts a large audience wondering if they've found the next big scandal.
In other words, there are perverse incentives in contemporary chess for accusing other players of cheating. Which is not to suggest that all accusations are insincere, but it does feel like if a player starts performing spectacularly well (as Niemann did in the runup to the Carlsen scandal) the first thought isn't "wow this guy's made a leap" it's "did he cheat?"
Kramnik first accused Naroditsky of cheating in October 2024. Naroditsky was not the first high-profile player Kramnik accused of cheating nor the last: three months ago he made a video accusing world number two and five-time US champion Hikaru Nakamura of cheating, after Nakamura went on 46-game streak without losing.
But Kramnik pursued his allegations against Naroditsky over an extended period of time, making multiple videos about his games, alongside personal attacks on social media.
"Daniel's smile faded after the attacks began. We all saw it."
Chess grandmaster Nihal Sarin
In Naroditsky's final stream he said: "Unfortunately, ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions. The issue is the lingering effect of it."
Last year Naroditsky posted a video accusing Kramnik of trying to "destroy my life" and causing "emotional and physical harm." On the C-Squared podcast he said he assumed Kramnik would make "three or four crazy, delusional videos" and then move on. "Unfortunately, the opposite happened, and it became apparent to me that this is no longer a case of me being next in line, but a sustained, evil and absolutely unhinged attempt to destroy my life." He went on to call Kramnik "one of the most wicked people I have ever dealt with."
Following the news of Naroditsky's death, and I do find this somewhat unbelievable, Kramnik doubled-down on his accusations.
"Too high price paid," wrote Kramnik on X. "But if I was the only person shouting about obvious long term problems of Danya becoming alarming, requiring urgent measures from people around, while 'friends' only cared about hiding it and erase evidence, it's rotten to the core."
The world chess governing body FIDE has announced it intends to take action against Kramnik, with president Arkady Dvorkovich saying that the case will be referred to its ethics and disciplinary committee, which has the power to ban players for life.
Quite outside of that, the disgust among the game's top players is evident. Former world champion Magnus Carlsen said Naroditsky's treatment was "horrible." Hikaru Nakamura called Kramnik "a disgrace to chess", adding "Kramnik can go fuck himself… Kramnik can go rot in hell."
Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin wrote on X that Kramnik "needs to pay for what he's doing ... The relentless, baseless accusations and public interrogations [Naroditsky] 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. Daniel's smile faded after the attacks began. We all saw it. The chess world has lost one of its brightest lights: someone who made our game accessible to millions."
"In my personal view what was done and happened to Naroditsky was just shockingly and disturbingly evil and horrific," said grandmaster Wesley So on X, tagging in Kramnik. "You wouldn't wish that to happen to your worst enemy. Let's say for a moment that Danya cheated (which I never believed). Would it be worth it to ruin a beautiful young life over a game? What was his soul worth?"
For his part, Kramnik 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 also indicated on X he was planning to take legal action against "all those falsely blaming me", accused the "chess mafia" of orchestrating events, and posted images of some messages he'd received: "Already hundred such criminal acts, received, legal team informing the police, letter to the Criminal Court getting ready in few hours. Whatever happens next, all those falsely blaming me will be legally responsible."
FIDE has expressed its condolences to Naroditsky's family, and says it will honour him in future with a special award.
Naroditsky's mother spoke to the Daily Mail about the accusations against her son. "There was nothing more important to Daniel than his dignity and his name as a chess player," said Elena Naroditsky. "And the ex-world champion was trying to say he's a cheater.
"Daniel tried to defend himself so much. The whole world was on Daniel's side. He played more and did more and more because he was trying to prove that he's not what he was accused of. It's a tragedy. He was my dearest son. He was 29."
Comentarii
Trimiteți un comentariu