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The International Chess Federation filed a complaint against former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik for leading a cheating smear campaign against fellow players, including Daniel Naroditsky, who died last month.
The complaint “follows concern in the chess community about repeated public allegations made by Kramnik against Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky and Grandmaster David Navara,” the federation, known as FIDE, said in a statement Tuesday.
The complaint, submitted to the FIDE Ethics & Disciplinary Commission, describes a “pattern of conduct over roughly two years” related to possible harassment, the federation’s statement reads.
It will include testimony provided by Czech grandmaster Navara, whom Kramnik, 50, also accused of cheating, and “people close” to Naroditsky, the statement said.
“FIDE has taken this step to ensure that all relevant statements and evidence are examined by an independent disciplinary body and that the process is conducted fairly and with respect for all individuals involved,” the statement said.
Naroditsky’s cause of death has yet to be revealed. However, it is being eyed as a possible suicide or drug overdose, according to a police incident report previously obtained by The Post.
The 29-year-old American grandmaster was found unconscious on a couch at his home in the southern suburbs of Charlotte by the founder of his chess club, a spokesperson for the club previously told NBC News.
Naroditsky faced repeated attacks by Kramnik, a Russian grandmaster, who accused him of cheating in online games in the months leading up to his death.
Kramnik insinuated that his rival was rigging the system, even using footage of Naroditsky’s online games to claim that he was looking at a second screen with a sophisticated computer program that could calculate millions of chess moves a second.
He even launched a GoFundMe to crowdfund his unspecified goal of “trying to clean modern chess from cheating.”
The prodigy’s grieving mother, Elena, also described the mental anguish that the cheating allegations had on her son.
“There was nothing more important to Daniel than his dignity and his name as a chess player. And the ex-world champion was trying to say he was a cheater,” she told the Daily Mail.
In his last livestream before his death, Naroditsky also said that Kramnik’s allegations had taken a toll on him.
“Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions. The issue is just the lingering effect of it,” Naroditsky said.
According to anti-cheating laws, the federation can sanction a player who makes unfounded accusations of cheating based on emotions or insufficient data.
Substantial evidence is required to launch a cheating investigation. There are no such documented reports investigating Naroditsky.
Other chess grandmasters, including Hikaru Nakamura and Nihal Sarin, have blasted Kramnik for leveling the allegations, claiming the world champ had harassed Naroditsky.
Naroditsky had earned the Grandmaster title at just 18 years old.
With Post wires.
English (US)