Remembering Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky
The chess world is grieving the sudden death of Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky at age 29.
The Charlotte Chess Center announced the news on behalf of his family, saying,
“It is with great sadness that we share the unexpected passing of Daniel Naroditsky.”
They described him as “a talented chess player, commentator, and educator, and a cherished member of the chess community.”
A Prodigy and Scholar
Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, Naroditsky learned chess at six and won the Under-12 World Youth Championship in 2007.
He became a grandmaster in 2013 and later graduated from Stanford University.
Moving to Charlotte in 2019, he became a respected coach, resident GM, and Twitch streamer.
Voice of the Game
Known for his insight and teaching, Naroditsky authored Mastering Positional Chess
at just 14 and earned the Samford Fellowship in 2014.
Tributes and Legacy
Chess.com’s Danny Rensch wrote, “Danya was more than an amazing, inspirational face of our game,
he was a friend and brother.” Fellow GM Olexandr Bortnyk added, “RIP my great friend Daniel Naroditsky.”
His final post joked about “time travel” and reflected his humor and warmth.