Daniel Naroditsky was a major name in the world of chess, rising to prominence when he became World Chess Champion at the age of just 18 and becoming a grandmaster in 2013. Praised for helping modernize chess and bring it into the 21st Century, Naroditsky was a popular player and commentator who also made a name for himself as a skillful teacher of the game.
A post from North Carolina's Charlotte Chess Club announced his death on social media: "The Naroditsky family shares the sad news of Daniel’s unexpected passing. Daniel was a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community. We ask for privacy as the family grieves.”
Naroditsky’s family continued sentiments on X, adding: "Let us remember Daniel for his passion and love for the game of chess, and for the joy and inspiration he brought to us all every day.”
Born in North Carolina on November 9, 1995, Daniel Naroditsky was the son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
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The young chess protégé supposedly learned the game from his father when he was just six.
It was here that his real interest in chess began, with his older brother, Alan, introducing him to the game to entertain other children at a birthday party. His father and coaches soon noticed his talents, although Naroditsky told a New York Times interview in 2022: "As far as I was concerned, I was just playing games with my brother."
Graduating from Stanford University after studying history, Naroditsky became a chess coach in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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In terms of his chess prowess, Naroditsky consistently ranked in the top 200 worldwide for FIDE's classical chess, while also keeping a top 25 position in the blitz chess rankings throughout his adult career.
As well as publishing two books, Naroditsky wrote columns for Chess Life and The New York Times. When he was just 14, Naroditsky became the youngest published chess author when he released Mastering Positional Chess: Practical Lessons of a Junior World Champion by New In Chess.
The young player famously avoided controversy, saying that former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik was "worse than dirty" when he accused Naroditsky of cheating at online chess. Fellow content creator GM Hikaru Nakamura quickly jumped to Naroditsky's defence.
Nakamura said he was 'devastated' by Nadoditsky's passing, adding: "This is a massive loss for the world of chess."
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At the time of his death, Naroditsky remained a pillar of the chess community and boasted nearly 500,000 followers on his YouTube channel.
With his Twitch channel also having an impressive 340,000 subscribers, the International Chess Federation said Nadoditsky had a "pivotal role in popularising chess content online."
Toronto-based Nemo Zhou told the BBC that Naroditsky was a friend and 'inspiration'. The Woman Chess Grandmaster (WGM) and chess content creator said he [Naroditsky] was "everything that the combination of chess and content creation was supposed to be – he had this way to make chess fun."
Paying the ultimate tribute to Naroditsky, Zhou referred to him as a "true historian of the game" who "did everything with kindness". Zhou concluded: "Without people like him, I probably would have quit chess at 17 and never touched it again."