Ivan’s death has been a point of controversy, as there are several versions, some of which assume that he died a natural death, while according to others, he was murdered.
It is said that Ivan died while playing chess with one of his close associates. However, in the 1960’s, after Ivan’s tomb was opened and his remains exhumed, it was discovered that they contained high amounts of mercury which led to speculations that he was poisoned. Another theory is that, Ivan was strangled by one of his enemies.