The World Chess Federation (Fide) has banned former world champion Kramnik for at least a year over verbal attacks he made on other players, including the late Daniel Naroditsky.
The body said it had found Kramnik “responsible for multiple violations” of its ethics and disciplinary code after the Russian accused other players of cheating.
US grandmaster Naroditsky died last October at the age of 29. Before his death, he had denied any wrongdoing and indicated the controversy had taken its toll on him in his final Twitch broadcast.
Kramnik wrote on X that he will appeal his suspension.
Another 12 months of the ban have been suspended for a probationary period of three years, Fide said. It means the active suspension is one year provided no further breaches occur during probation.
Naroditsky was a popular player, teacher and commentator. He was a leading figure in online chess with hundreds of thousands of followers – who knew him as Danya – across Twitch and YouTube.
A toxicology report released in 2026 said he had had multiple drugs in his system at the time and was killed by an abnormal heartbeat caused by an accidental overdose.
Some 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.
