Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has joined a chorus of chess players in blaming former world champion Vladimir Kramnik for putting Daniel Naroditsky under mental stress.
Naroditsky, a New York Times columnist and educator, died last Monday. He became a Grandmaster at 18 and was hailed as a chess prodigy. His passing sparked a buzz online amid a growing refrain that the 29-year-old Naroditsky was under severe stress after allegations of cheating were levelled against him by Kramnik.
Erigaisi demanded that the international chess federation, which goes by the acronym FIDE, ‘prevent Kramnik from playing with mental health of others.’
“So heartbreaking,” Erigaisi wrote on X. “Isn’t this clip from Danya’s last stream more than good enough to understand how much his mental health was affected by the baseless accusations by Kramnik? @FIDE_chess Ethics Commission must step up and prevent Kramnik from playing with mental health of others.”
Erigaisi also shared a part of the video clip in which Naroditsky addresses the allegations of cheating against him. Over the years, Kramnik had engaged in a nearly endless, one-sided campaign against the American without any proof to back his claims. Naroditsky, known as Danya to his friends, addressed the cheating allegations in what would become his final stream.
During the nearly 150-minute broadcast, Naroditsky, who was called Danya by his friends, dozed off several times live on stream, a clear sign that all was not well. He was playing online blitz games late on October 17th when his friend, Peter Giannatos, the founder of the Charlotte Chess Center, intervened and forced him to end the stream.
In the clip that Erigaisi shared, Naroditsky said: “The problem is ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions. Suddenly, started playing well. You know what I mean. The issue was just a lingering effect to it.”
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Erigaisi isn’t the only Indian who has spoken up on the issue. Indian GM Nihal Sarin, who was the last player Naroditsky faced on the popular online forum chess.com, has squarely blamed Kramnik as well.
Filipino-American Grandmaster Wesley So, too, shared his views on the issue. “Just to add my 2 cents. I think and in my opinion Kramnik’s response to Daniel’s passing was cold and heartless. I didn’t want to say anything in the beginning because it is not my place and Vlad has always been great towards me but things have gotten too far,” So wrote. “In my personal view what was done and happened to Naroditsky was just shockingly and disturbingly evil and horrific. You wouldn’t wish that to happen to your worst enemy. Let’s say for a moment that Danya cheated (which I never believed). Would it be worth it to ruin a beautiful young life over a game? What was his soul worth? @VBkramnik , are you done? Maybe its not too late to just stop and fix/make things better. You are a living legend to this game. The chess world is not your enemy.”
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