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Panaji: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand responded to the death of Daniel Naroditsky by assuring action over “unfounded allegations” made by Vladimir Kramnik without significant evidence.Former world champion Kramnik, who won the title from Garry Kasparov in 2000 and then lost it to Anand in 2008, has been the most prolific cheat proclaimer in recent years.
The way Kramnik handled the situation before and after the sudden death of Naroditsky has “disappointed” Anand. The FIDE vice president also assured parents of the young Grandmasters to fight the battle together and wanted the new generation of players to “not believe everything written on unregulated space”.Replying to TOI ’s query on Kramnik’s case while interacting with the media along with the chief minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, Anand said, “We plan to take steps. To be honest, most of us are quite disappointed with how Kramnik has behaved in this matter. We will take steps to take care of this. I don’t think there’s any cause for unfounded allegations, and we will continue working on that. I don’t want to comment too much on what we are going to do specifically because it’s a matter which is going to the ethics commission.”When asked how the youngsters and their parents should handle the situation if something similar happens to them, Anand said, “I hope this will also lead to a conversation not only for organisation and new platforms but also for parents and youngsters. One of the messages parents will have to give to their youngsters is not to believe everything you read. It’s a fairly unregulated space, and you have to learn to just leave it there. But of course, it’s not something we’re only going to leave with the parents; hopefully, we can help fight the battle with them.”
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On his favourite to win the World Cup in Goa and the top three finishers who will confirm their seats for the 2026 Candidates tournament, Anand said, “I would say the top three seeds are pretty decent for the top three finishes, especially since they all desperately needed this shot except perhaps Pragg, who might have an alternative shot. But there are lots of motivated people. I mean, slightly older guys, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian. If you went by sheer strength, you would go like this, but just look at the wealth of talent joining today.”
