Daniel Naroditsky Dies; Cheating Allegations Raised

Daniel Naroditsky, a 29-year-old chess grandmaster and head coach at the Charlotte Chess Center, died unexpectedly on Monday, his family and the Center said; no cause was disclosed and they asked for privacy. A former child prodigy who became a grandmaster in his teens and graduated from Stanford, Naroditsky was consistently ranked among the world’s top 200 players and among the top 25 in blitz and bullet chess. He recently won the U.S. National Blitz Championship and built a large online following on YouTube and Twitch through instructional streams and viral feats such as a blindfolded blitz win. In recent months he faced repeated, publicly aired — and unproven — accusations of cheating led by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, which Naroditsky said had taken a heavy toll on him. Fellow grandmasters and the wider chess community mourned his sudden death, praising his teaching and role in popularizing the game while urging respect for his grieving family as investigators and the public await further information.