Chess physique investigating ex-world champion who accused Daniel Naroditsky of dishonest

The Worldwide Chess Federation is investigating a Russian grandmaster for allegations of dishonest he levied at fellow elite gamers, together with 29-year-old U.S. grandmaster and YouTube sensation Daniel Naroditsky, who died earlier this week.

The world governing physique for chess, often known as FIDE, mentioned Wednesday that it was wanting into statements Vladimir Kramnik made “both before and after the tragic death of GM Daniel Naroditsky” to find out if the Russian chess legend ought to undergo disciplinary actions.

“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,” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich mentioned in an announcement on the group’s web site.

“When this happens, discussions can turn into harassment, bullying, and personal attacks — a particularly serious concern in today’s environment,” Dvorkovich added.

FIDE didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark detailing the steps of the investigation and what attainable disciplinary motion could be taken.

The information of Naroditsky’s demise rocked the chess group and left lots of his followers and supporters on the lookout for solutions.

The Charlotte Chess Middle in North Carolina, the place Naroditsky labored as a coach, didn’t instantly disclose a reason behind demise.

Naroditsky was remembered by his friends as a participant of immense ability who remained humble regardless of his skills.

Along with coaching different gamers, Naroditsky ran profitable YouTube and Twitch accounts the place he grew a fandom of fellow chess lovers and launched the sport to a brand new technology of gamers.

In what seemed to be his closing stream on Twitch final week, Naroditsky appeared at occasions agitated and irritable as he described the stress that the Kramnik accusations had precipitated him. He defined why he felt the necessity to counter the Russian participant’s public dispersions.

“And you know, then there’s of course people who will be like, ‘OK, sure, whatever, but how does that impact your livelihood? … Even if some GM [grandmaster] will think this like who cares?,’ ” Naroditsky mentioned on the stream.

“That is shocking to me as well because that literally is what a legacy is. That is all I have,” he mentioned.

“If I knew that some of the most influential movers and shakers of the chess world, you know, would carry the notion that I am a completely morally bankrupt individual, that would represent the complete failure of literally everything … my reason for waking up in the morning,” Naroditsky mentioned.

On social media, Kramnik, a former world champion who is taken into account one of many all-time greats, described what he known as the FIDE’s “insulting and unfair” “campaign” in opposition to him.

Naroditsky shouldn’t be the primary participant to get ensnared in battle with the Russian chess big. The 50-year-old Kramnik has baselessly accused a number of of his youthful rivals of dishonest, leading to his account on the favored web site chess.com being muted in 2023.

In a sequence of ranting posts on social media on Wednesday, Kramnik doubled down on his accusations, writing: “From prominent players, you all know their names, but will not [disclose] it in public … #chessmafia must be held accountable.”

Kramnik wrote that Naroditsky supporters had been “falsely blaming” him for the chess streamer’s demise and threatened authorized motion in opposition to folks concerned in making these claims.

With out citing any proof, Kramnik alleged there have been efforts to hide the “real truth about the [circumstances] and cause of this [tragedy].”

To honor Naroditsky’s reminiscence, FIDE introduced this week it will set up a particular prize in his title.