"We found his accusations baseless" - Vladimir Kramnik's Chess.com profile gets "muted" following feud with GMHikaru

Chess.com has imposed sanctions on Grandmaster and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, who has been in the limelight over the past couple of months or so. In November, Kramnik and Hikaru "GMHikaru" clashed, setting off a chain reaction of online reports and cheating accusations, turning the situation into a real hornet's nest.

Most cheating accusations against Hikaru were penned and published by Kramnik on his Chess.com blog, which has now been locked. Chess.com shared an official statement regarding the situation, stating:

"Our team carefully investigated many dozens of players about which GM Kramnik raised suspicions. In the vast majority of cases, we found his accusations baseless."

They added:

"GM Kramnik's escalating attacks against some of the most respected members of the chess community and some of it's most promising young talents can no longer be ignored. Consequently, we have now closed GM Kramnik's blog and muted his account."

Chess.com publishes a statement regarding Kramnik's blog (Image via X/Chess.com)

---

What were the accusations made by Vladimir Kramnik against GMHikaru?

In the final week of November, Vladimir Kramnik made a cryptic post on his Chess.com blog, sharing his doubts over an unnamed player winning 45.5 out of 46 matches on the platform. This was an unmistakable dig at GMHikaru, who had just accomplished a similar feat. He posted:

"A player had scored 45.5 out of 46 CONSECUTIVE three minutes blitz games against approximately 2950 in average rating opposition (few different players) which is equivalent to 3600+ performance in those 46 Consecutive games. I believe everyone would find this interesting."

Kramnik's post that started the controversy (Image via Chess.com)

These allegations were promptly dismissed, as it became apparent that Hikaru had secured the run against opponents with significantly lower ratings, something that was well within the expected scope of his performance.

Vladimir Kramnik, however, persisted and unleashed a series of articles, drawing comparisons between Hikaru's performance and that of higher-rated players, all the while voicing his suspicions regarding the possibility of foul play.

---

What did the community say?

Chess.com's recent decision has undeniably sparked diverse reactions. Some believe that the website has taken excessive action, while others have grown weary of his accusations. Here are some notable reactions:

Kramnik's sanction leaves the Chess community divided (Image via X/Chess.com)

---

Whether this marks the last straw in the ongoing controversy remains to be seen. Currently, users are unable to access his previous blogs, and Vladimir Kramnik is barred from posting new write-ups. Nevertheless, he is free to play games on the website.