Daniel Naroditsky, an American chess grandmaster, has died at the age of 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 by his club, the Charlotte Chess Center, on Monday. No cause of death was given.

“It is with great sadness that we share the unexpected passing of Daniel Naroditsky,” the statement said. “Daniel was a talented chess player, commentator and educator, and a valued member of the chess community, admired and respected by fans and players around the world.”

The American and International Chess Federations honored Naroditsky, along with other professional players.

American world number two Hikaru Nakamura said he was “devastated” by the news.

“This is a huge loss to the chess world,” Nakamura said in a social media post.

Naroditsky first became interested in chess at the age of six when his older brother Alan introduced him to the game to help entertain a group of children at a birthday party.

His father Vladimir and numerous coaches soon noticed his talent.

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

He gained international attention in 2007 when he won the Under-12 World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. In 2010, at the age of 14, he became one of the youngest ever published chess authors when he wrote a book titled Mastering Positional Chess covering practical skills and technical maneuvers.

In 2013, Naroditsky won the US Junior Championship, which helped him earn the title of grandmaster, the highest-ranked chess player of the International Chess Federation, while still a teenager.

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

While still competing in high-level events, he is taking his talents to the online chess universe.

Naroditsky’s YouTube channel has gained nearly 500,000 subscribers and his Twitch stream has amassed 340,000 followers, with hundreds of thousands of viewers drawn to his regular video tutorials and live streams against competitors. Fans praised his insight and passion, casually calling him “Danya”.

In 2022, the New York Times named Naroditsky as its “new chess columnist” and invited him to participate in a series of chess puzzles for the paper’s games section.

In the accompanying interview, the young grandmaster reflects on the influence of chess in his life.

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