He was remembered for his talent as well as his kindness by those who worked with him.
Danny Rensch, chief chess officer at Chess.com, called him “more than an amazing, inspirational face of our game, he was a friend and brother.”
When he heard the news, his close friend and fellow grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk broke down on his livestream. He was a very decent person. A very kind guy,” Bortnyk said. "Danya, don't worry about anything," I told him at the end of our conversation. I love you so much.’”
Naroditsky was known for talking to fans at tournaments long after the rounds were over, signing autographs for kids, and doing impressions of famous players. In 2021 he scored one of his career-best wins, defeating the world No 2 Fabiano Caruana at the US Championship.
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You Thought I Was Gone!? was the title of his final YouTube video, which was uploaded on Friday and showed him playing online games from his Charlotte home studio. “I’m back, better than ever,” he told viewers.
From all over the world of chess, tributes have poured in. The eighth round of the ongoing US Championship opened with a moment of silence on Monday in St Louis, while the International Chess Federation called his death “a devastating loss”.
The popular YouTuber Charlie White (known online as penguinz0), who studied under Naroditsky for more than a year, described him as “such a wholesome presence in the chess community, and the world is a worse place without him. Daniel is so instructive, entertaining, and patient that I doubt we'll ever meet another like him. “ He was an amazing teacher, an amazing player and an incredible friend.”
Naroditsky is survived by his mother and brother. His father died in 2019.
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