The death of the grandmaster at only 29 years of age has finally turned into a thriller chess Daniel Naroditsky as the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced it was looking into the possibility that he had been attacked by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.
According to what has become known, Vladimir Kramnik number one for seven years in chess succeeding Garry Kasparov has been accusing Naroditsky of stealing for the last year.
Kramnik said, without any proof, that the 29-year-old was using a computer during his online games.
The deceased, Daniel Naroditsky, had not accepted the chargeshowever the whole situation had caused effects on his mental health.
“Since the Kramnik affair started, I feel that when I start playing well, people have the worst intentions. The problem is just the lingering effect of that,” he said during his latest Twitch live stream last weekend.
On October 17 in his last public appearance daniel naroditsky was seen slurring and half asleep implying that this would be his last live. “This won’t be the last time he faces criticism or trolling,” read a comment read by Naroditsky, with him replying, “oh, actually it will be.”
“Be healthy, be well, be safe. I will see you win or lose after the match” were the last words of the 29-year-old.
“It’s a great loss. It’s very sad for all of us that somebody who was such a resource to the chess community and also had a universally high approval rating from everybody he met was led to the place that he was.”@MagnusCarlsen on the passing of Daniel Naroditsky. pic.twitter.com/BQJ9Flbp0J
— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) October 21, 2025
Daniel Naroditsky was found dead last Monday by Ukrainian Grandmaster Alexander Bortnik along with a friend.
As soon as the death of Daniel Naroditsky was announced, mouths began to open. World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura hurled insults at Kramnik while five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen condemned the “appalling” behavior of the Russian chess player.
This was during Daniel Naroditsky’s last stream. My heart aches to see him gone in this state. I didn’t want to upload this at first because I believe he should be remembered by the person he was, but people should watch the harsh truth of what was done to him, never forget. pic.twitter.com/4bVqsmve6a
— Tomi Luraschi (@TomiSwegg) October 21, 2025
Similar is the attitude of the Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin who played with Naroditsky in his last online match. THE Indian man accuses Kramnik of ‘stealing a life’ and he did not fail to add that the accusations he unleashed had caused his friend “tremendous anxiety”.
Amount of love given to Danya post-mortem is unprecedented.
I can’t recall anything of the kind. But here is the problem – where all of you were when Danya was alive and unwell?I am not talking now about stepping in when he was accused. Although it is a separate important… pic.twitter.com/aGenzSFbtl
— Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) October 22, 2025
Vladimir Kramnik, who has had a habit of accusing chess players in recent years, called Naroditsky’s death a tragedy that “the police must investigate” leaving hints of “financial interests” and threatening legal action against “those falsely accusing me”.
Indian chess player Nihal Sarin did not stop criticizing Kramnik’s stance. “Cheating in chess is a huge problem. But what Kramnik is doing is completely unacceptable. He just throws accusations every day… He was a world champion and a very influential personality. And I don’t know if he realizes the impact this can have on innocent people. Kramnik’s methods, it seems, are basically like burning down a town to catch some crooks. They kill a few thousand other completely innocent people to catch one or two.”
FIDE chief executive Emil Sutovsky is “looking into” Kramnik’s behaviour, noting that “the way he is approaching the matter is simply unacceptable”.
Notably, Naroditsky was famous for his chess YouTube channel, which offered instructional videos and live streams against competitors, and inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the world to play the game.
His channel numbered almost 500,000 subscribers, while his Twitch stream garnered 340,000 followers. Fans praised his insight and passion, while the International Chess Federation said he had played a “defining role in spreading chess content online”.