Ex-chess champion investigated over Daniel Naroditsky 'attacks' after his death at 29

Daniel Naroditsky, who recently passed away, was crowned world chess champion in 2013, earning the title of grandmaster at the age of 18

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The World Chess Federation (FIDE) CEO, Emil Sutovsky, has announced that they're 'looking into' comments made by Vladimir Kramnik before Daniel Naroditsky’s death. On Monday, the chess player's family announced his death in a statement released by his club, the Charlotte Chess Centre.

His passing was described as 'unexpected', and no cause of death was given. Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, Sutovsky revealed that Fide was investigating comments made by Kramnik, who had accused Naroditsky of online cheating in a public attack.

Before his death, the American grandmaster and commentator denied any wrongdoing. During his final Twitch broadcast last weekend, Naroditsky, who had built a large following on social media, also indicated that the controversy had affected him.

A video of the stream has since been deleted. Kramnik declined to comment on Sutovsky's statement when approached by Reuters, claiming he would 'rather tell the story in whole'.

He said: "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."

On X, formerly known as Twitter, the 50-year-old Russian claimed that he's preparing to take legal action against 'all those falsely blaming me'.

In another post, Kramnik, who was the world champion from 2000 to 2007, insisted that Naroditsky's death should be investigated by police'.

He wrote: "Without a doubt, this recent tradegy should be investigated by police, there are too many huge financial interests involved to be sure about it being just an incident. I am ready to provide all information required. Thanks."

Former world champion Magnus Carlsen told viewers in a Twitch stream that Kramnik's treatment of Naroditsky was "horrible".

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In the meantime, some of the biggest names in chess have come together to remember Naroditsky. The US National team coach, John Donaldson, said: "Daniel enjoyed everything about chess, whether it was playing, studying or learning about the history of the game.

"He was a voracious reader of chess literature."

The US Chess Federation said: "US Chess is saddened to learn that GM Daniel Naroditsky has died.

"Naroditsky was a World Youth and U.S. Junior champion, and also a beloved educator, streamer, Chess Life columnist, and part of the @CLTchesscenter community."

The world number two, Hikaru Nakamura, said: "I'm devastated. This is a massive loss for the world of chess."

Meanwhile, Dutch grandmaster Benjamin Bok posted on X: "I still can’t believe it and don’t want to believe it. It was always a privilege to play, train, and commentate with Danya, but above all, to call him my friend."

Armenian grandmaster Levon Grigori Aronian said: "It’s heartbreaking. I knew Danya quite well and I can say he was always a good friend and a nice guy."