Daniel Naroditsky's final video posted shortly before his death goes viral for haunting title: 'You thought I was gone!?'

The chess community has been in a state of mourning ever since news of American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky's sudden demise at the age of 29 on Sunday broke out. Heartfelt tributes have since poured in from across the world with some of the biggest names in chess history including Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Judit Polgar, etc offering their condolences.

Naroditsky’s sudden demise has also put the spotlight on the cheating allegations that he had been facing from Russian chess icon Vladimir Kramnik for over a year, and the profound impact that it had on his mental health – especially considering the fact that Kramnik had hurled accusations towards him without evidence.

Spotlight on Naroditsky’s final YouTube video after his untimely demise

The chess community, after all, is also starting to notice signs in recent live streams and videos posted by Naroditsky – who had gained worldwide popularity as a commentator and streamer in addition to being one of the top blitz players in the world.

Shortly before his demise, Naroditsky – known popularly as ‘Danya’ – had ended a long hiatus on YouTube by posting his first video in three months. It was the title of that video – “You thought I was gone!? Speedrun returns!” – that has suddenly drawn the attention of chess fans from across the world.

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The video had been posted on Friday, 17 October, just two days before he breathed his last at his North Carolina residence. “You thought I was gone forever. But little do you know I’m back, better than ever,” ‘Danya’ said in the intro of the video that had a runtime of an hour and four minutes.

The cause of Naroditsky’s death has not been made public yet, with his family members making no mention of it in their official statement shared via the Charlotte Chess Center’s X account on Monday.

However, the title of the video, along with his body language in his final live stream in which he appeared incoherent and half asleep while discussing Kramnik’s accusations, suggests that things clearly weren’t well at his end.

Meanwhile, Kramnik is starting to face the heat with regards to his controversial crusade against cheating that appeared to have done more harm than good for the sport, with Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, two of the biggest chess stars today, slamming him for his controversial anti-cheating campaign.

The matter has even reached FIDE's doorstep with CEO Emil Sutovsky stating that the Lausanne-based governing body will be “looking into” the veteran Russian GM’s repeated public attacks aimed at Naroditsky.