FIDE Suspends Kramnik For Two Years Over Cyberbullying, Unfounded Cheating Claims
Sat, 04 Jul 2026
FIDE's Ethics and Disciplinary Commission has banned former world champion Vladimir Kramnik for two years, finding him guilty of a sustained pattern of unfounded public cheating accusations. Kramnik says he will appeal.
FIDE's Ethics and Disciplinary Commission has banned former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik from the sport for two years, with the second year suspended over a three-year probationary period, and ordered twelve months of unpaid service to the chess community. The Commission found Kramnik guilty on eight of eleven charges related to bullying, cyberbullying, and making unfounded public cheating accusations.The ruling centers on a sustained pattern of public accusations Kramnik made against fellow grandmasters, including David Navara and the late Daniel Naroditsky, a popular streamer who died in October 2025. Both players had previously spoken about the personal toll the allegations took on them; Navara has described their effect on him publicly, and Naroditsky discussed the strain in interviews before his death.The Commission's decision addresses each of the eleven charges individually, finding Kramnik not guilty on three and guilty on the remaining eight, which concerned his public conduct toward the two players.Kramnik, who has denied wrongdoing, said in response that he is confident the ruling will be overturned and intends to pursue every available avenue to challenge it, calling the decision unlawful. He has not withdrawn any of his underlying public statements.The case has renewed debate within the chess world over the line between fair-play advocacy — using public data and analysis to raise legitimate cheating concerns — and public accusation made without presenting supporting evidence, a distinction FIDE's ruling attempts to draw but which critics on both sides of the case have argued is not always easy to apply in practice.