Not Kramnik’s job to make accusations, says former second Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely was Vladimir Kramnik’s second. The Dutchman feels the former World champion should not have been making accusations against players like Daniel Naroditsky, the popular American Grandmaster who died tragically recently.
World chess governing body FIDE has filed a complaint about Kramnik to its Ethics Commission following his public allegations against Naroditsky and David Navara. “I know when chess players have been under stress for such a long time and working so hard,” van Wely told Sportstar. “I have the feeling that the guy simply has lost it. You could see those crazy press conferences…”
Van Wely, a former World No. 10 who is at the World Cup as coach of Max Warmerdam, thinks there was no need for Kramnik to make those comments. “The guy has had a beautiful career,” he pointed out.”What is his problem? It is not his job to get involved. It is not his speciality.”
He, however, believes there is cheating in chess. “But you need to back up your claims,” he says. “When I was in the Senate (in the Netherlands), I was doing justice and security. I know a little bit about those things. I feel that if you have to catch the cheats in chess you will probably have to violate the law, such as the ones regarding privacy.”
Van Wely will soon be back in India for the Global Chess League, as coach of Triveni Continental Kings, whom he guided to the title in both previous editions.
Published on Nov 12, 2025