Born on 9 November 1995 in San Mateo, California, Daniel Naroditsky became a prominent Grandmaster, author, coach and streamer whose influence extended far beyond the chessboard. He died just two weeks before his 30th birthday.
Chess entered his life at the age of six, when his older brother, Alan, brought several board games to entertain children at a party. Their father, Vladimir, an immigrant from Ukraine, taught them how to play chess. “I think a lot of people want to imagine that it was love at first sight and that my brother couldn’t pull me away from the chessboard… It was more of a gradual process, where chess slowly entered the battery of stuff we did to pass the time. A lot of my best memories are just doing stuff with my brother,” he told the New York Times in 2022, in an article announcing that he would be writing a chess column for the paper. Beyond chess, basketball was another of Naroditsky’s favorite sports.
Like most players destined for success, Daniel Naroditsky began making his mark early. In 2007, he earned the FIDE Master title and won the U-12 section of the World Youth Chess Championship. He shared second place at the 2010 US Open, became an International Master in 2011, and won the US Junior Championship in 2013. That same year, he achieved the title of Grandmaster. His peak FIDE classical rating was 2647, reached in May 2017. Naroditsky was also an exceptional blitz and rapid player. He competed in major national and international events while simultaneously making a path for himself outside of chess, graduating with a degree in history from Stanford University.
But Naroditsky’s greatest gift to chess was his ability to explain the game to those who were just starting to discover Caissa’s world. He was a teacher at the Charlotte Chess Center, and also had private students. He authored several books on chess, starting with Mastering Positional Chess which he published at the age of 14 – having begun writing it when he was just ten years old.
Naroditsky often appeared as a commentator for prominent chess events, most notably on Chess.com, and also ran highly popular Twitch and YouTube channels. He was praised for the ability to calmly and simply explain the game to players of all levels. From 2014 to 2020 he also wrote a column for Chess Life.
Naroditsky’s unexpected passing was announced on X by his family via the Charlotte Chess Centre. Chess players around the world spoke out following the news of Naroditsky’s death, praising him as a skilled player, a gifted educator and a generous spirit.
Beyond the chessboard, Naroditsky played a pivotal role in popularizing chess content online, bridging the gap between professional and amateur chess.
Speaking to the New York Times in 2022, he summed up his view of chess – and life – in the following well-known quote: “At the end of the game, both the king and the pawn go into the same box.”
There are not many people in the world who manage to achieve so much before turning 30. Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky will forever be among them.
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Maria Emelianova, Lennart Ootes and Michal Walusza