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The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has initiated an inquiry regarding a Russian ex-world champion’s conduct towards a US grandmaster who passed away this month.

Vladimir Kramnik began accusing Daniel Naroditsky, who passed away at 29 and was announced on Monday, of cheating in online chess last October. He kept making these claims without offering any solid proof.

Naroditsky mentioned just before passing away, with the reason for his death remaining unclear, that the accusations had affected him.

Arkady Dvorkovich, head of FIDE, stated on Wednesday that he has submitted all of Kramnik’s public comments regarding Naroditsky to the organization’s ethics and disciplinary committee.

Suitable measures would be implemented if Kramnik, who held the world chess championship in the early 2000s, was proven to have committed public harassment or intimidation.

Kramnik has not made any public statement regarding the investigation, although he has described Naroditsky’s passing as a tragedy.

Naroditsky, who has a significant online audience for his chess content, mentioned to his viewers during his final live stream on Saturday that the accusations made by Kramnik had impacted him.

Ever since the Kramnik incident, I feel that if I start performing well, people automatically think the worst,” Naroditsky said, adding that the problem was simply the ongoing impact of it. He mentioned that the Russian grandmaster had once been one of his “heroes.

Five-time world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has called Kramnik’s behavior toward Naroditsky “disgraceful,” while other top players, Hikaru Nakamura and Nihal Sarin, claimed he attempted to ruin the young American player’s image.

Kramnik has also alleged that many other top chess players engaged in cheating, leading to Chess.com removing his blog from the platform in 2023.

A Czech grandmaster named David Navara stated that the public accusations made him consider suicide. In reply, the Russian player accused Navara of making false claims.

“Recently, discussions in the chess community have frequently crossed into areas that are unacceptable, damaging not only individuals’ reputations but also their overall well-being,” said Dvorkovich, president of FIDE, on Wednesday.

When this occurs, conversations may escalate into harassment, intimidation, and targeted insults — a significant issue in the current climate.

Dvorkovich mentioned that FIDE would create an award in Naroditsky’s honor.

Naroditsky claimed the title of under-12 World Champion in 2007, and later achieved the rank of grandmaster in 2013 when he was 18 years old. After that, he completed his studies at Stanford University, earning a degree in history.

A chess player based in California frequently appeared among the world’s top 200 and was within the top 25 for blitz chess, a rapid form of the game.

In response to his passing, Dutch chess grandmaster Benjamin Bok stated: “I still find it hard to accept and don’t wish to accept.”

“It has always been an honor to play, train, and provide commentary with Danya, but most importantly, to consider him my friend,” he added.