I never got to meet Naroditsky in person. He hardly played much classical chess and hardly travelled outside the US, and I’ve never been to the US. But I knew him pretty well.
We played a lot of games, and he was a great guy. He was a very positive guy, and one of the smartest. You could just feel it from the way he spoke. It was heartbreaking to hear the news.
Naroditsky’s last games on chess.com were against me. That day, we had played a bit in the morning, and the last games were at night. We were also talking about a few things. He said he was under immense stress due to a lot of accusations, from Kramnik. But apparently quite a few others seemed to have joined in. I can imagine the pain he was going through for a very long time and the toll on his mental health, but didn’t think he would get affected so easily.
When I was accused by Kramnik, a lot of people close to me immediately defended me. It was easier for me because I was playing much more over the board. I feel sad that not as many people could be so vocal in supporting Naroditsky. I was hardly affected by the accusations against me. I was aware that I had had some good results, and was kind of waiting for it. I knew Kramnik would come after me someday.
This undated photo released by Charlotte Chess Center shows Daniel Naroditsky playing chess on the board. (Kelly Centrelli/Charlotte Chess Center via AP
He’s (Kramnik) a great player, a world champion, a very influential one. He gave a lot to chess. He’s one of the greatest players of all time. But these days, he has destroyed his own reputation and now he’s causing much more harm. He has literally taken a life and now he’s after Navara, the nicest guy in chess.
I’ve played Navara a few times and interacted with him. For a long time, Navara has had some psychological issues and he has even mentioned that these accusations made him feel suicidal. He wrote to FIDE asking for some sanctions against Kramnik but nothing happened. Kramnik is now filing a lawsuit against him.
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Why would somebody like Naroditsky cheat? That’s a question that guys like Kramnik can conveniently ignore. I don’t understand what one gets from this?
Cheating in chess is a huge problem but Kramnik is just blurting out accusations basically every day. I don’t know if he realises the impact it can have on innocent people. Kramnik’s method is like burning down a city to catch some cheaters. If you accuse everyone in the world, you will be right about someone; it’s not rocket science at all.
In our last conversation, Naroditsky said he would like to share a few things with me in private. Later that day, I wrote him some supportive messages. I asked him to feel free to contact me, and now I get this news. I was worried that something bad would happen. I’m still in shock.
I definitely hope that something good comes out of this for others who are suffering. I’m especially concerned for Navara. Kramnik really needs to pay for what he’s doing to others.
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Danya (Naroditsky) always spoke very highly of me. He supported me a lot, and it’s really sad what has happened. We played a total of some 2,100 or 2,200 games on chess.com alone.
Our last few games felt very abnormal. Almost every game, at some point in a short three-minute game, it felt like he was having huge pauses for no reason. It was like he was just freezing, and I felt something was off. In the last game, I actually offered him a draw, but he spent a lot of time and just played.
I was worried about Naroditsky after his last few games… and then I did not see him online again. Generally, the guy used to be online 24/7. And the day after, I heard the news of his passing.
Kramnik is one big voice, but there are others supporting him. I just hope that others don’t suffer like this.
(Grandmaster Nihal Sarin spoke to Mayank Chaudhary)
