Why You Should Boycott FIDE

Like many of you, I was shocked and heartbroken to learn that 29-year-old Daniel Naroditsky had been declared dead. I'll admit that I seldom consume chess content and in general was largely unfamiliar with his educational content, but of the bit that I did watch I can tell he had a precious gift for reading the minds of mediocre chess players like myself worldwide and breaking down concepts into something we can all learn from. Moreover, the more stories I read about people's experiences with him, even well after he became famous, show just how incredibly kind and down-to-earth he was. He never let the fame get into his head; he gave everyone his time freely and saw even the most random person on the street as a complete equal. That's something extremely rare to find in today's world of celebrities and I do feel like this world did not deserve him.

What happened?

As much as I know everyone would rather honour him, we are all well aware of why he died. Even on his last stream, he was talking about Kramnik and how much it affected him. Should such a kind and gentle soul be forced to prove his innocence while people actually suspected him of cheating? It's obvious that this had to do with his untimely death. Yet Kramnik will still continue to spill his vile conspiracies while the rest of the chess world mourns the speed legend.

Given FIDE's lukewarm response in the past to Kramnik, one would expect that they would clarify their stance now. Cleanse their image, if you will.

Yet this is what Emil spews:




Two sentences. Two effing sentences was all he could bring himself to say against Kramnik because victim-blaming others was easier.

Moreover, Emil was caught lying on Twitter saying he never received a "formal complaint" from Danya. What utter BS. On stream, Naroditsky said multiple times that he asked FIDE to step in on behalf of all players affected by cheating accusations.

In Sarin's own words, "The relentless, baseless accusations and public interrogations he faced in recent months caused him immense pressure and pain. This has to stop. When respected figures spread unfounded allegations without accountability, real lives are destroyed. Daniel's smile faded after the attacks began. We all saw it. The chess world has lost one of its brightest lights - someone who made our game accessible to millions."

In an October 2024 interview, Naroditsky also described Kramnik’s behaviour as “a sustained, evil and absolutely unhinged attempt to destroy my life.” For a man as civil as he was, you can imagine how much it took for him to become so open and raw about it.

Emil's tone-deaf response to the late Danya's death have shown that FIDE is more interested in protecting someone who takes sadistic pleasure in going after the kindest souls known to man than actually bringing about justice.

The irony could not be more plainly obvious. He talks about how nobody helped while ignoring the fact that as CEO of FIDE he had the biggest opportunity to help. As for his gaslighting, it is extremely cruel to those who lost a loved one. We know that as Danya got more incoherent in his last stream, others began aborting games against him to protect his rating, urging him to rest, and his entire chat was extremely supportive while telling him to take a break. They bought time so that Bortnyk and Peter could arrive at his house in the middle of the night and encourage him to sleep.

As someone who has been with suicidal friends and been suicidal themselves, his family and friends did all they could. Putting the blame on them is absolutely insane. Besides, a good support system doesn't mean that the darkness won't swallow you eventually.

The audacity for Emil not to notice that he is the problem he criticizes...is asinine.

Nemo, Nihal, Hikaru, Anna, Levy, and so many others have already spoken out against this shameful behavior. But I think that beyond doing so as well, we should take action. Show that we will not tolerate this.

Kramnik posing with FM 12 year old Danya. Can you imagine your childhood hero watching you grow up and then taking sadistic pleasure in a calculated smear campaign against you?

So what should we do?

I say we boycott them. No more FIDE tournaments - you can find plenty OTB tournaments in your own country otherwise. No more association with Kramnik - if everybody ignores him his witch hunts will lose their reach. No more association with FIDE in any form until they choose to do what is right. Show them that the general chess public is done with their BS and we're not going to tolerate it any more. Because only when we all band together collectively will they finally learn that actions have consequences and the chess community will not stand for this.

In the meantime, push for your national chess federation to work for change within their own community, while also distancing themselves from FIDE until real changes are implemented.

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I've barely scratched the surface of this topic but I trust that many of you have heard the news and can fill in the details yourself. May we all band together for once and show FIDE we will not tolerate them anymore.

#JusticeForNaroditsky

https://youtu.be/zY3P9Hx8Ep0?si=MFCxf43nRUKuIQaq