US chess grandmaster, 29, died after drug overdose following cheating allegations, report finds

Daniel Naroditsky, 29, was found dead on a couch in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, by fellow grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk on October 19 last year.

At the time of his death, police began investigating for possible suicide or drug overdose, having not found signs of foul play.

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According to a toxicology report, the six-time world champion had the synthetic stimulants methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

He had also taken 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine, the active chemical compounds found in Kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia with opioid-like effects.

All the drugs found in Naroditsky's system were known to be highly addictive.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Methamphetamine has a high potential for abuse and dependence, with some highly restricted but accepted medical applications.

The DEA also warned that regular consumption of Krartom "can lead to psychotic symptoms, and psychological and physiological dependence".

Naroditsky was repeatedly accused of cheating in online chess games by a fellow grandmaster in the year before he died.

Vladimir Kramnik, a 50-year-old Russian chess great, claimed Naroditsky was using "chess engines", computer programs that generate moves regarded as the strongest in a given scenario.

The American grandmaster, who denied the allegations, was emotionally struggling to deal with the stress of the accusations, his mother said in the wake of his death.

Elena Naroditsky told the Daily Mail: "There was nothing more important to Daniel than his dignity and his name as a chess player.

"Daniel tried to defend himself so much. The whole world was on Daniel's side. He played more and did more and more because he was trying to prove that he's not what he was accused of."

Mr Kramnik is now facing disciplinary proceedings over repeated accusations of cheating against Mr Naroditsky.

The American's supporters claimed he had been "bullied relentlessly online" by Mr Kramnik.

Responding to the accusations, Mr Kramnik said: "What public statement after the death of Daniel was incorrect? ... I have not bullied Daniel Naroditsky, nor ever made personal insults towards him."