Chess pros demand Vladimir Kramnik be permabanned after Daniel Naroditsky’s death

by

Following the tragic death of Daniel Naroditsky, many top chess players are demanding a ban for Vladimir Kramnik and calling for the resignation of FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky, due to their handling of the situation.

Chess master Daniel Naroditsky, also known for his online streaming, passed away on October 20th at the age of 29. Fans and other chess players quickly shared their condolences and memories.

Evgeny Naroditsky, a grandmaster since age 18 and now a successful online personality, was one of several players publicly accused of cheating by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.

In his recent stream, Naroditsky voiced worries about the accusations, explaining that any improvement in his gameplay or the end of a broadcast would likely be seen negatively by viewers.

Watching Danya’s final stream was heartbreaking – you could really hear the pain caused by the unfair accusations. It makes me incredibly angry that we all let this happen. Now is the time to stop being afraid of the consequences, and I’m urging FIDE to take action…

— Nemo (@akaNemsko) October 21, 2025

During the chess broadcast, a Grandmaster fell asleep, prompting Kramnik to comment on a perceived trend in the chess world. He criticized what he saw as a focus on appearances over addressing real problems, saying people prioritize ‘looking great’ and avoid acknowledging serious issues. Kramnik urged honesty and a willingness to help solve these problems, stating that image isn’t the most important thing.

After Naroditsky’s death, Kramnik expressed his sorrow, stating that a high price had been paid. He added that he was the only one publicly voicing serious, long-term concerns about Danya’s well-being and urging action, while others seemed more interested in covering up the issues and concealing evidence, which he found deeply disturbing.

The price I paid was too high, but it felt justified considering I was the only one warning about Danya’s serious, long-term issues that demanded immediate attention. Meanwhile, those around me – people I considered friends – only seemed interested in covering things up and destroying evidence. It was a deeply unethical situation.

— Vladimir Kramnik (@VBkramnik) October 20, 2025

Players are now asking for Kramnik to be excluded from chess tournaments, and they are also publicly criticizing FIDE’s CEO, Emil Sutovsky, about it.

Players call for Kramnik’s ban

In a series of posts on X, chess stars Nemo Zhou and GothamChess demanded that action be taken.

Nemo is demanding that FIDE remove Vladimir Kramnik from its official records, strip him of his title, and invalidate his world championship win. He believes Kramnik’s actions against players like David Navara, Hikaru Nakamura, and Danya Nervtag are unacceptable and warrant these consequences. He’s urging the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission to take action, dismissing concerns about potential criticism.

FIDE and its Ethics and Disciplinary Commission need to create clear rules to protect players’ safety, both when they’re playing in person and online. The issues that led to this unfortunate event have been apparent for the last year and a half.

I’m hoping something positive will eventually result from everything that’s happened. It really needs to, and it’s up to all of us to ensure that it does.

— Nemo (@akaNemsko) October 21, 2025

GM Hikaru Nakamura echoed those sentiments, thanking Nemo for her “clear” comments.

GothamChess agreed, proposing that the top 100 chess players could make a statement by signing a petition or refusing to play in tournaments until action is taken regarding Kramnik – perhaps through a ban or by stripping him of his world championship title.

FIDE CEO accuses players of “virtue signalling” following Daniel Naroditsky’s death

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky received criticism for his reaction, stating that it was too narrow to concentrate solely on Kramnik and ignore other factors. He argued that showing respect through public displays of support or seeking attention was a poor way to honor Danya.

Emil’s statement caused a lot of disagreement and criticism, with well-known YouTuber GothamChess describing it as awful.

Honestly, it was a really long post – he wrote about five times more than usual. It was mostly calling out the people who were around and could have stepped in to help this guy and just talked him down, you know?

Nemo was even harsher in her criticism, demanding that the CEO step down from his position.

She angrily criticized him for immediately blaming others for the tragedy, refusing to acknowledge any responsibility for player safety or following established rules, and then accusing those expressing concern of being disingenuous. She demanded his immediate resignation, calling his behavior appalling.

Sutovsky acknowledged that his earlier comments weren’t clear and that FIDE, the international chess federation, needs to improve its efforts to safeguard players.

He clarified that his comments weren’t about Danya’s true friends or family. He was talking about people who now claim to be friends, but didn’t offer much support when it was needed. He also admitted that FIDE, the international chess federation, could have handled the situation better.

Honestly, I’m still waiting to see what happens with Kramnik. The guy’s been warned a ton of times about calling out cheating, and even got banned from winning prizes on Chess.com for six months because of it. It’s a messy situation, and I guess we’ll just have to see if anything else comes of it.

Read More

2025-10-22 19:50