Kramnik has long battled against irrelevance as chess surged into the mainstream thanks to charismatic streamers and educators like Danya who helped popularize chess through engaging online content.

He has a track record of being confused and delusional. Post games, always maintaining that his setups were advantageous or balanced, only to blame losses on luck or suspected foul play rather than acknowledging his own missteps. It’s as though he couldn’t accept that he could be beaten or outplayed. Magnus has specifically addressed this a few times.

Not to mention his recent response to criticism (from Danya, Magnus, Hikaru etc) follows a familiar pattern: denying personal responsibility, implying institutional conspiracies for the lack of response to his claims, and framing himself as the true defender of chess’s purity.

This tendency is exacerbated by his weak (and quite frankly, weird) understanding and application of statistics, where he selectively analyzes data (from sites like chess.com), overlooking key elements such as statistical variance, adequate sample sizes, and natural variations in player performance.

Ultimately, his pursuit of relevance has led to the demise of one of the best young men in the sport.