A former world chess champion who made baseless accusations of cheating against US chess superstar Daniel Naroditsky has painted himself as the victim, describing receiving dozens of threats to his life following the American’s death.
Russian national Vladimir Kramnik, 50, told The Post he is willing to speak with police in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, he warned he will take legal action against others in the chess community who have blamed his campaign against Naroditsky—the son of a Ukrainian-born Jewish father—for leading to the 29-year-old’s death, which was announced on Monday.
Speaking from his home in Switzerland, Kramnik also criticized chess world authorities, who have launched a probe into his possible harassment or bullying of the US chess ace. Describing Naroditsky’s death as “tragic,” he warned there would be “legal consequences for everyone” who accuses him of being responsible.
“What is happening now is, unfortunately, a continuation of a very, very dirty PR campaign, which I started to be a target for already two years,” he told The Post. “I had much more severe attacks, death threats for my family as well, on top of permanent, continuous defamation publications, and, well, just insults.”
Kramnik revealed that he has received dozens of direct death threats over the past two days. He said he plans to go to the police in Switzerland to “start a criminal case” against those in the chess world who have blamed him for Naroditsky’s death.
The former world champion has been suspended multiple times from Chess.com, the world’s largest online chess platform, for pushing what a spokesperson called “baseless conspiracy theories about other players.” For several years, Kramnik has accused Naroditsky—who became America’s greatest ambassador in the sport—and others of cheating in online games using sophisticated computer programs that analyze millions of possible moves to guarantee victory.
Following Monday’s tragic news, many figures in the chess community, where players compete for serious money online, condemned Kramnik. Among them was Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, who said Kramnik has “kind of literally taken a life.”
Despite this backlash, Kramnik insisted that he is the victim in the story. He claimed he was “the only one” trying to help Naroditsky.
“I was the only one who, once I saw his shape, one day before his death, I was shouting, publicly, ‘Please help him.’ It’s very obvious that he had big issues,” he said. “Maybe he is under some substances, but something was clearly wrong with him, very very wrong. And nobody did anything, and now they are blaming me, who was the only one trying to tell police, friends, people who are close, ‘Come and do something about it.’”
No official cause of death has yet been given for Naroditsky, who was found unconscious on his couch at his Charlotte apartment by senior figures in his chess club on Sunday. The investigation into his death remains active, with police treating it as a possible suicide or overdose, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department incident report seen by The Post.
### Latest Updates on the Death of Chess Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky
– American chess grandmaster dead unexpectedly at 29
– US chess superstar faced repeated, unproven accusations of cheating by Russian rival before his death
– US chess superstar was incoherent, rambling in final stream just days before his death
– Ex-world chess champ investigated for unfounded attacks on grandmaster as grieving mom says he died tormented by them
Kramnik insists his legal team has already reached out to police in Charlotte, expressing his desire to assist with what he described as “really strange” circumstances surrounding Naroditsky’s death.
“I really would like that the investigation to take place [is a] very serious police investigation, and that we all know what happened,” he said. He pointed out some unusual details: “Some things [that] were really strange were happening. The fact that all his videos on his Twitch channel were erased like a few hours before his death.”
“I spoke with my lawyers already. They will try to contact the police department in Charlotte, to try to ask them for an investigation,” Kramnik added. “I will do everything in my power to get a real investigation into what happened that day, the day before, why his shape was deteriorating so rapidly, what was happening in these days.”
Naroditsky appeared incoherent and rambling in his final Twitch stream before his death, in which he explicitly discussed the baseless claims made by Kramnik.
“Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions,” Naroditsky said in the video made in the early hours of October 17.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/24/us-news/daniel-naroditskys-death-has-led-to-daeth-threats-vladimir-kramnik/
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