Former chess champion Kramnik banned for at least a year over cheating accusations

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has imposed a minimum one-year ban on former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. The decision followed findings that Kramnik was responsible for multiple violations of the federation's ethics and disciplinary code, including verbal attacks on other players and allegations of cheating.

Among those targeted was American grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, who died last October at the age of 29. Before his death, Naroditsky denied any wrongdoing and indicated that the controversy had taken a toll on him during his final Twitch broadcast. A toxicology report released in 2026 later revealed that he had multiple drugs in his system at the time of death, which was caused by an abnormal heartbeat resulting from an accidental overdose.

FIDE added that an additional 12-month ban has been suspended for a probationary period of three years. This means the active suspension is one year provided no further breaches occur during probation. Kramnik has stated on X that he will appeal the suspension.

Naroditsky was a popular online chess personality with hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitch and YouTube, where he was known as Danya. Several prominent figures in the chess community, including world number two Hikaru Nakamura, former world champion Magnus Carlsen, and Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin, have previously condemned Kramnik's conduct.