The World Chess Federation (Fide) has suspended former world champion Kramnik for at least a year for 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 ethical and disciplinary code after the Russian accused other players of cheating.

American grandmaster Naroditsky died last October at the age of 29. Before his death, he had denied any wrongdoing and indicated that the controversy had taken its toll on him in his final Twitch stream.

Kramnik wrote in X that he will appeal his suspension.

A further 12 months of ban have been suspended for a three-year trial period, Fide claims. It means that the active suspension is one year as long as no further violations occur during the 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) on Twitch and YouTube.

A toxicology report released in 2026 said he had had multiple drugs in his system at the time and died from 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.