Vladimir Kramnik GoFundMe raises over $3000 as Russian chess grandmaster denies responsibility in Daniel Naroditsky death

Over $3,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe campaign started by Vladimir Kramnik, a former World Chess Champion, who is facing increasing backlash for his remarks about the late American player Daniel Naroditsky.

The GoFundMe is called “Fair Play in Chess” and was created to further Kramnik’s efforts to fight against cheating in competitive chess, which he says is a “rapidly spreading disease” that plagues the game.The debate originates from Kramnik's claims in recent years that some leading chess players, including Naroditsky, may have played with some form of dishonesty online. Naroditsky was a 29 year old US grandmaster, popular Twitch streamer, and coach at the Charlotte Chess Center, who was found dead in his home on October 19, 2025.

Vladimir Kramnik championed a false narrative and caused persistent infliction on late GM Daniel Naroditsky.
Kramnik was actually cyberstalking Danya and didn't care about his mental health.pic.twitter.com/0MGRIEzsEf

— 𝑈𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖 𝐵𝑜𝑦 (@Anthony1Enahoro) October 21, 2025

The global chess community was taken aback by his sudden death and began speculating on whether Vladimir Kramnik’s comments may have added to his distress.

Last week, the FIDE International Chess Federation confirmed that there is an investigation of Kramnik’s statements “both before and after” Daniel Naroditsky’s death, meaning whether the Russian grandmaster also violated the FIDE code of ethics by publicly accusing other professionals of cheating.

Following the tragedy, many of the biggest names in chess, including Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, and Arjun Erigaisi, condemned Kramnik, accusing him of harassment and reckless conduct.

Many players felt that Kramnik's repeated insinuations of cheating in his games, which he made without definitive evidence, created an unhealthy impact on the playing environment and may have exacerbated Naroditsky’s mental health challenges.

Vladimir Kramnik's response to the backlash

However, Vladimir Kramnik has vehemently denied any accountability. In an interview on Al Arabiya, he insisted that he never openly accused Naroditsky of cheating; he only stated there were "very serious suspicions" that deserved to be investigated.

"It was not an accusation, not a baseless accusation as they pretend, and that would be the basis of my legal case. I said many times it’s not an accusation and I asked many times to consider it," he added.

Your legacy will be of bullying and false accusations that lead to the death of a beloved and respected grandmaster

No one will remember you as Vladimir Kramnik Chess grandmaster, they will remember you as Vladimir Kramnik the murderer of Danya https://t.co/VLbv8dmncv

— 🦋 CaliMorningstar.bsky.social 🍉 (@CaliMorningstar) October 24, 2025

Kramnik also denounced what he termed a "dirty organized PR campaign" against him, stating that he and his legal team were working on filing a number of criminal and civil lawsuits in retaliation. Kramnik said that he felt the backlash was incredibly unfair and that his only purpose was to protect fairness and integrity in the game.

"It’s completely tragic what happened. It’s shocking and heartbreaking for me also because of the especially circumstances... This very dirty, very organised, orchestrated PR campaign, which is happening now against me," Vladimir Kramnik remarked.

In the GoFundMe page, Vladimir Kramnik reiterated that his project was part of a bigger initiative to "clean modern chess from cheating" and motivate the major chess organizations to do more. He also shared a YouTube channel where he shares discussions and breakdowns of fair play in online chess.

In the meantime, the President of FIDE, Arkady Dvorkinich, asked the chess community not to harass and speculate in public about the players' reputations and well-being and explained that this could harm their reputations and well-being. FIDE also expressed plans to create a special award in Naroditsky's name to recognize his commitment to chess.