Chess fraternity in shock after grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky passes away at age of 29: ‘Lost for words… Heartbreaking’

The chess world was left in shock when the news of American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky's passing came out on Monday.

Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky passed away at 29 years of age. (X/Charlotte Chess)

The chess world was left in shock when the news of American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky’s passing came out on Monday. The news was announced from the X account of Charlotte Chess Center where the post read, “The Naroditsky family shares the sad news of Daniel’s unexpected passing. Daniel was a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community. We ask for privacy as the family grieves.” The chess player was just 29 years old at the time of his death.

World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura was one of the first to react to the news, posting “I’m devastated. This is a massive loss for the world of chess.” Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan also tweeted out his condolences, posting, “Lost for words. So young, so brilliant. The word ‘tragic’ doesn’t even begin to describe the emotion felt.”

I'm devastated. This is a massive loss for the world of chess. 😢 https://t.co/U6Hq194uAK

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) October 20, 2025

“This is absolutely shocking! My deepest condolences..,” posted Vidit Gujrathi. “Deepest condolences to Danya’s family and friends. Cannot believe such a nice human being is not among us anymore. Have had the honour of working with him during the covid. He was extremely kind, courteous, extremely talented and generous. We will all miss you Danya,” Dronacharya awardee RB Ramesh posted. Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja also posted, “Heartbreaking. My deepest condolences.”

The Naroditsky family shares the sad news of Daniel’s unexpected passing. Daniel was a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community. We ask for privacy as the family grieves. pic.twitter.com/otNdUxDKtL

— Charlotte Chess Center (@CLTchesscenter) October 20, 2025

Naroditsky became a Grandmaster at the age of 18 in 2013 and has been a consistent feature in the top 200 in the world and top 15 in the US in Classical Chess. He was also in the top 75 in Rapid and top 25 in Blitz. Last year, he crossed 2700 FIDE Blitz for the first time.

This is absolutely shocking! 💔 My deepest condolences.. https://t.co/iB7ymVIMDc

— Vidit Gujrathi (@viditchess) October 20, 2025

This year, he won the US National Blitz Championship and as of August, he held a FIDE blitz rating of 2732 which made him an 18th ranked player in the World and No. 6 in America.

Deepest condolences to Danya’s family and friends. Cannot believe such a nice human being is not among us anymore. Have had the honour of working with him during the covid. He was extremely kind, courteous, extremely talented and generous. We will all miss you Danya.

— Ramesh RB (@Rameshchess) October 20, 2025

In 2024, Naroditsky had called former world champion Vladimir Kramnik “worse than dirt” following another accusation of cheating in the World Rapid and Blitz Championship.

In recent years, Naroditsky was also creating content on his Twitch channel and YouTube which have 340,000 and 482,000 subscribers respectively which he gained due to his commentary and educational content.