Indian GM Nihal Sarin accuses Russian Kramnik for death of American Naroditsky

Indian chess grandmaster (GM) Nihal Sarin has hit out at Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik as the 'person behind death' of 29-year-old American chess player Daniel Naroditsky. The American was pronounced dead by his family on Monday (Oct 21). According to Sarin, Naroditsky was under severe stress because of the cheating charges levelled against him by Kramnik. American Naroditsky was the youngest player to win the North California K-12 Chess Championship and has won the U.S Junior Championship in 2013 before becoming a grandmaster at the age of 18.

Indian GM blames Russian Kramnik for Naroditsky's death

"The relentless, baseless accusations and public interrogations he faced in recent months caused him immense pressure and pain. This has to stop. When respected figures spread unfounded allegations without accountability, real lives are destroyed," Sarin posted on his X account.

“He (Kramnik) has kind of literally taken a life,” the Indian GM also told The Indian Express. Sarin, a 21-year-old and a blitz expert, had played more than 2000 online games of chess with Naroditsky.

"Daniel's smile faded after the attacks began. We all saw it. The chess world has lost one of its brightest lights - someone who made our game accessible to millions," he further wrote on X.

What cheating charges Kramnik accused Naroditsky of?

Kramnik accused Naroditsky of using a sophisticated engine while playing online games. The engine, according to Kramnik, calculated millions of moves per second to determine the best next move. The Russian also put forth the arguments such as study of where the American GM looked during the online matches. Naroditsky denied the allegations straight out but appeared hassled with them, even looking stressed.

Expressing remorse over Daniel’s demise, the world number two Hikaru Nakamura wrote, "I'm devastated. This is a massive loss for the world of chess."