Vladimir Kramnik, who used to teach D Gukesh, is quite the character in online chess circles and on social media. This chess icon tends to get pretty upset after losses, often reporting or blocking his opponents without any solid proof. He’s previously claimed that both Gukesh and Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin have cheated, but he hasn’t managed to back up those claims.

Kramnik also has a bit of a history with Hikaru Nakamura, who’s currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Their rivalry kicked off when a young Nakamura beat Kramnik, and the latter didn’t take it too well. Kramnik has even accused Nakamura of cheating in his games on chess.com, but both the platform and Nakamura have strongly denied those allegations.

Chess.com even brought in a stats professor to analyze Nakamura’s online games, and it turned out he never cheated. Kramnik, however, had a different opinion on the findings and criticized the report.

Nakamura didn’t perform well at the World Rapid Championships, which was won by Grandmaster Volodar Murzin, making him the second-youngest rapid world champion ever.

Kramnik took to X to throw some shade at Nakamura’s performance, subtly comparing it to his online winning streaks. He wrote, “Uh, playing without magic home chair, it hurts,” referring to Nakamura streaming his chess.com matches. He also posted a photo showcasing Nakamura’s performance.

He also mentioned, "There’s probably a bar in the playing hall too."

In another post, he said, "The hall of fame performances from major @chesscom and most of the titled Tuesdays 'heroes we deserve' Page 1.”

Nakamura is a five-time US Chess Champion and currently holds the title of World Fischer Random Chess Champion. He became a grandmaster at just 15 years old, making him the youngest American to achieve that title back then. Now at 37, he boasts a peak rating of 2816, ranking him as the tenth-highest-rated player ever.

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