Daniel Naroditsky, US chess grandmaster, dies aged 29

American chess grandmaster and online commentator Daniel Naroditsky has died at the age of 29.

The popular chess player’s family announced his “unexpected” death in a statement released Monday by his club, the Charlotte Chess Center. No cause of death was stated.

“We share with great sadness the unexpected death of Daniel Naroditsky,” the statement said. “Daniel was a talented chess player, commentator and educator and a beloved member of the chess community admired and respected by fans and players around the world.”

US and International chess federations paid tribute to Naroditsky, as well as other professional players.

America’s world number two Hikaru Nakamura said he was “devastated” by the news.

“This is a great loss for the chess world,” Nakamura said in his social media post.

Naroditsky first started playing chess when he was six years old, when his older brother Alan introduced him to the game to entertain a group of children at a birthday party.

His father Vladimir and many coaches quickly noticed his talents.

“As far as I was concerned, I was just playing around with my brother,” Naroditsky said in a 2022 interview with the New York Times.

He attracted international attention by winning the world junior championship in boys under 12 in Antalya in 2007. In 2010, at the age of 14, he became one of the youngest chess writers ever published when he wrote a book titled Mastering Positional Chess, covering practical skills and technical maneuvers.

In 2013, Naroditsky won the US Junior Championship, helping him earn the title of grandmaster, the international chess federation’s top chess rival, while still a teenager.

Naroditsky later graduated from Stanford University and worked as a chess coach in Charlotte, North Carolina.

While he still competes in high-level events, he has transferred his talents to the online chess universe.

Naroditsky’s YouTube channel has gained nearly 500,000 subscribers and his Twitch stream has reached 340,000 followers; hundreds of thousands of viewers watched his regular video tutorials and live broadcasts against his opponents. Fans praised her insight and passion and casually referred to her as ‘Danya’.

In 2022, the New York Times called Naroditsky “the new chess columnist” and invited him to contribute a series of chess puzzles for the newspaper’s games section.

In the interview accompanying the broadcast, the young grandmaster reflected on the impact of chess on his life.

“Even at my level, I can discover good things about the game every time I train, teach, play or commentate at a tournament,” he said.