Daniel Naroditsky found unconscious on couch by friends; police find no foul play: Report

The details surrounding American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky's tragic demise on Sunday had largely been kept under the wraps, with his family’s official statement that was released on Monday making no mention of the 29-year-old’s cause of death and calling for privacy in the hour of grief.

A report on NBC News, however, reveals that Naroditsky – who was just three weeks away from turning 30 – was found unconscious at his residence in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County.

Naroditsky discovered unconscious by his good friends

Charlotte Chess Center chief spokesperson Kelly Centrelli confirmed that the club’s founder Peter Giannatos and GM Oleksandr Bortnyk had discovered him lying unconscious on a couch at his home on Sunday.

Both Giannatos and Bortnyk were good friends with Naroditsky, who had worked at the Charlotte Chess Center as a trainer in addition to being one of the top blitz players in the world as well as a highly popular chess commentator and streamer.

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It was also the Charlotte Chess Center that had shared the Naroditsky family statement on Monday, which sent shockwaves across the chess community leading to an outpouring of tributes and condolence messages from the biggest icons in the sport including Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand.

A report in the Daily Mail claims that Naroditsky could have died by suicide or accidentally overdosed, as per the local police. They are awaiting toxicology results to determine the real cause. The report added that police found no signs of foul play and do not suspect criminal activity.

“We saw him on the couch from a window,” Giannatos told Daily Mail, explaining the moment he found Naroditsky unconscious. “After knocking and ringing doorbell, I then went into the home and discovered him. I then went outside and asked Bortnyk to call 911.”

The latest details surrounding Naroditsky’s demise are likely to further fuel rumours of the American GM possibly succumbing to substance abuse.

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

In his final live stream shortly before his death, ‘Danya’, as he was known across the chess community, was visibly incoherent and struggling to stay awake while playing rapid games online, which was in complete contrast with how he usually presented himself as a commentator and streamer.

Naroditsky had previously admitted to having been psychologically affected by cheating accusations leveled against him by Russian chess icon Vladimir Kramnik. And in his final stream, the 29-year-old made mention of Kramnik’s public attacks against him – part of his controversial crusade against cheating in chess – indicating that his idol’s words were still haunting him mentally.

Also Read | Naroditsky tragedy exposes dark underbelly of chess world and Kramnik’s controversial cheating crusade

Kramnik’s first reaction after Naroditsky’s death was to suggest that the latter was under the influence of "some serious drugs" and was possibly targeted by the “chess mafia”. The 50-year-old former world champion, however, finds himself cornered over his cheating accusations against Naroditsky and other players, with some holding him responsible for the tragic loss.