The chess community was in for a massive shock on Tuesday after learning of the sudden passing of Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky at the tender age of 29 on Sunday, the news of which was confirmed by his family on the following day.
Naroditsky, known affectionately as ‘Danya’, was hailed as a prodigy growing up and had later gained worldwide popularity as a commentator besides commanding a massive following on video-sharing and streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. At the time of his demise, Naroditsky was 23rd on the FIDE Blitz ratings with a rating of 2705.
Though he was largely a beloved figure within the chess world, Naroditsky, who had achieved his GM title at the age of 18 in 2013, did not get along with everyone. Especially Russian chess icon Vladimir Kramnik, who had accused the young chess star of cheating in online chess in October last year.
Naroditsky admitted Kramnik’s comments had affected him
Kramnik, a former PCA Classical World Champion as well as FIDE World Champion, had accused Naroditsky of consulting a chess engine on a second screen in order to gain an unfair advantage over his opponents.
Naroditsky later hit back at Kramnik over the cheating allegations, labeling him “worse than dirt” while also admitting that the Russian GM’s explosive statement had affected him mentally, especially when playing online chess.
“Cheating, in my mind, is probably the worst crime a chess player can commit. It’s a reputation-ending crime to do it as a grandmaster. But to do what, you know, what Kramnik has done and what everybody who supports him have done, in my mind, morally, it makes you worse than dirt,” Naroditsky had said in a chat with Take Take Take.
“I don’t think I’m good, I don’t think I’m thick-skinned enough to say, honestly, that that isn’t affecting me at all.
“I would be failing the lie detector test if I said that. I’ve been nice and civil and courteous to this army of troglodyte lowlifes for way too long. I’m really sick of it. I’m not going to tolerate any of the hate any longer,” he added.
Naroditsky went on to add that while icons of the game deserve respect for their achievements in chess, they also deserve criticism if a “certain line is crossed”.
“It’s definitely been infuriating for the fans to be flamed either by players who are too cowardly or, you know, too into the drama to make it clear that the patients shouldn’t run the facility in the chess world. Or, conversely, just like… There’s this hierarchy in the chess world where we give so much respect to people with a high rating and people with accomplishments. And they are deserving of respect,” ‘Danya’ continued.
“But when a certain line is crossed, we’re all equal as humans. So that this has been happening and keeps getting perpetuated is… It’s really a shame and it’s seen as a dark chapter in chess. Not because of me personally,” he added.
Kramnik’s cheating allegations, in hindsight, is being seen by some within chess circles as a possible reason for Naroditsky’s demise.
The 50-year-old, however, distanced himself from the shocking demise through a series of posts on microblogging platform X in which he suggested that Naroditsky was under the influence of “some serious drugs” and was also being targeted by the chess mafia.