Chess enthusiasts and players rushed to pay tribute to 29-year-old grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky on Tuesday, following the sad news of his death last evening.
The talented chess legend released a YouTube video after a hiatus of a few weeks just days before the news of his unexpected demise, with few signs of anything being wrong, except perhaps the playful title that began: “You thought I was gone!?”
‘Really a nice guy. A life gone too soon.
The Charlotte Chess Center where Naroditsky was located shared the news of his death, noting that his family had asked for privacy and were not commenting on the cause.
Naroditsky’s home club said, “Daniel was a talented chess player, teacher, and beloved member of the chess community.”
“Hello my great friend Daniel Naroditsky, I still can’t believe it,” wrote Charlotte’s other speed chess superstar, Ukrainian Grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk.
The Kasparov Chess Foundation, founded by former world champion Garry Kasparov, also mourned the passing of “one of the brightest stars to emerge from our programs”.
It shared the image of a young Naroditsky, who had been in the spotlight from a very young age as a chess prodigy, training with Kasparov.
“Danya’s talent, creativity, and love of chess inspired everyone who knew her, from students to fellow competitors,” the foundation wrote.
India’s former world champion Viswanathan Anand, another stalwart of the game whom Naroditsky liked to verbally enact on air, said the chess world would miss his presence.
“Truly shocked by the passing of GM Daniel Naroditsky. An excellent chess commentator and teacher. A genuinely nice human being. A life gone too soon,” Anand wrote online.
Prodigy, Commentator, YouTuber
Born in California to immigrants from the former Soviet Union, his mother from what is now Ukraine and his father from Azerbaijan, Naroditsky was among the leading players of his generation growing up.
He was also a prodigious young talent on the page, and in 2010, at just 14 years old, he became the youngest published chess author. Mastering Positional Chess: Practical Lessons from a Junior World Champion. That same year, Naroditsky qualified for the Seniors’ US Chess Championship by finishing joint second at the US Open.
Although Naroditsky once looked like a potential future contender for world champion, he never reached the top level of chess, except in less time-control formats such as rapid, blitz and bullet chess, where most considered him one of the best players on the planet.
Instead, Naroditsky became one of the sport’s leading broadcast and online voices during his 20s.
He regularly worked as a commentator for top tournaments, amassing nearly half a million subscribers to his YouTube channel, which specializes in providing in-depth advice for intermediate or advanced players trying to improve, and worked as a columnist. the new York TimesHe also demonstrated a lively sense of humor throughout, and became famous for his enthusiastic impersonations of chess celebrities, not least his childhood mentor Kasparov.
“His passion for chess shined through when he was commentating and when he was competing,” said American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, No. 3 in the world ranking.
International Master Levi Rozman, better known by his YouTube handle “GothamChess,” released an emotional video tribute to his fellow online chess teacher, saying, “Danya can explain the game to an ant.”
The International Chess Federation FIDE also noted Naroditsky’s role in promoting the game in recent years in its tribute.
“Beyond the chessboard, Naroditsky played an important role in popularizing chess content online, bridging the gap between professional and amateur chess,” FIDE wrote in its obituary. “There are not many people in the world who are able to achieve so much before the age of 30. Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky will always be among them.”