Daniel Naroditsky: The Legend

Daniel 'Danya' Naroditsky was one of the legends of the modern era. He was a 2600+ Grandmaster and one of the elite players in Blitz and Bullet. He helped popularize chess streaming, allowing the game to be enjoyed by a wider audience. He taught so many people through his Youtube channel with clear helpful explanations. He would also stream on Twitch, allowing viewers to see the internal thought process of a Grandmaster. Naroditsky was also a talented author, commentator and had a scholarly knowledge of chess history.

Rise to Grandmaster

Naroditsky was born on November 9th, 1995. He first saw a chess board when he was 6 years old, his older brother having brought some board games along to a birthday party. His brother (who was a proficient amateur) then starting teaching him the game. Danya would always lose to him at first but gradually got better.

“I think a lot of people want to imagine that it was love at first sight and that my brother couldn’t pull me away from the chessboard,” Mr. Naroditsky said. “It was more of a gradual process, where chess slowly entered the battery of stuff we did to pass the time. A lot of my best memories are just doing stuff with my brother.”

Daniel Naroditsky Interview, Deb Amlen, Meet The Times’s New Chess Columnist, New York Times, June 12, 2022

His father also taught him and then hired some coaches for him. They discovered that Naroditsky had a natural talent for the game.

At the age of 9, Danya was already the highest ranked player in America for his age. He won the U.S. School Chess Championships in 2004 and 2005.

Kasparov met Naroditsky as part of his Chess Foundation initiative to meet upcoming talents.

Naroditsky meets Kasparov. Source: fpawn.blogspot.com

His first international success was winning the U-12 World Youth Chess Championship in December 2007 with 9.5/11. At the start of 2008, Danya had an Elo of 2200.

Daniel Naroditsky at the Mechanics Institute with John Donaldson after winning the U-12 World Youth Chess Championship. Danya proceeded to analyze his games on the demonstration board. Source: danamackenzie.com

At the age of 14, Danya published his first book: Mastering Positional Chess. He annotated thematic positions in his customary crystalline style, showing the magic behind the moves. It already showed his immense talent for both teaching and understanding chess, as well as his ambition.

Naroditsky came second at the 2010 U.S. Open and qualified for and played in the 2011 U.S. Championship for the first time. He then had a 2 year plateau with his rating fluctuating between 2450 and 2500. He published his second book: Mastering Complex Endgames in 2012. He won the US Junior Championship in 2013 with 6.5/9.

Naroditsky won the 2013 U.S. Junior Championship after winning the final round. Source: Chess.com

In October 2013, just before turning 18 he was awarded the Grandmaster title. He then had another surge of growth going from 2540 to 2640 in just 1 year. Naroditsky started writing a column for Chess Life magazine in 2014. Naroditsky was fascinated by history, choosing it as his major at Stanford University and graduated in 2019.

At the U.S. Masters 2019, Naroditsky played what he considered to be his best game (as of 2020):

In 2020, Danya became a resident Grandmaster and coach at the Charlotte Chess Center.

In 2021, Naroditsky defeated Caruana at the U.S. Championship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyc5W4mmbCo

Naroditsky defeats Caruana in Round 5 of the 2021 U.S. Championship. Credit: Lennart Ootes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRgIkvwIh4g

Dominance in Speed Chess and Chess Streaming

Danya remained a consistent 2600+ player in classical. The Chess Boom in 2020 was caused by the Covid lockdowns as well the Netflix series The Queen's Gambit which led to chess becoming popular globally. It also led to the rise of chess streaming. Danya was one of the founding figures in the Chess Boom and had hundreds of thousands of people watch him stream chess on Twitch as well as watch his Youtube videos. Danya had a speedrun series where he would provide free and high quality lessons on how to play different openings. Danya was also a well known and beloved commentator in many high profile chess events. He became the New York Times chess columnist in 2022.

“I feel like that’s my God-given responsibility,” he said, laughing. “I’ve resisted the pull of using clickbait and appealing video titles. However entertaining it is, I also want it to be instructive.”

“I also want the readers to feel like they couldn’t just go online and search for that puzzle,” he added. “I really want them to feel like this enriched their day, whether they’re beginners or advanced players.”

To emphasize the fact that he speaks to players of all levels, Mr. Naroditsky said that his favorite quote about chess was one best known as an Italian proverb but most likely traceable to a 1629 collection of writings by John Boys, who was the Dean of Canterbury in England:

“At the end of the game, both the king and the pawn go into the same box.”

Daniel Naroditsky Interview, Deb Amlen, Meet The Times’s New Chess Columnist, New York Times, June 12, 2022

Danya's Streaming Setup. Credit: Travis Dove/The New York Times

During this time, chess shifted towards being played online with a faster format. Danya was very successful at online chess, becoming one of the top players on Lichess and Chess.com for both Blitz and Bullet. Danya would frequently finish 1st or near the top in Lichess titled arenas. In August 2024, Danya hit 2700 in Blitz for the first time and would be ranked in the Top 25 for blitz chess overall. During the 2024 World Rapid and Blitz, Danya finished in a 9-way tie for first place in the Swiss section, but missed out on the knock out match format due to tiebreaks. During the tournament he beat Ivanchuk who broke down emotionally after losing. Danya showed his empathy and respect by staying at the board. He won the U.S. National Blitz Championship in August 2025 with a perfect score of 14/14.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_evi2X-PY0c&pp=ygUOZGFueWEgaXZhbmNodWs%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVEstW512QA

Final Thoughts

Danya passed away on October 19th, 2025 at the age of 29. He left far before his time. His games and story will always inspire people. Clear explanations and funny, memorable lines were a hallmark of his commentary style. He couldn't resist making hilarious puns and wordplay while doing commentary. He once brought Leko to hysterics after making a joke about a player 'having seen that before in 1963' during one of the games at the 2023 Grand Swiss. Danya's legacy will remain and he lives on in every chess player who learnt something from him, through the moves which they can now play.

Sources

• Naroditsky, Daniel FIDE
• Tuesday night at the Mechanics — Daniel Naroditsky, Dana Mackenzie, December 5th, 2007
• Naroditsky wins Under 12 World Youth Chess Championship, E. "Doc" Smith December 7th, 2007
• Naroditsky Crowned King at U.S. Junior Closed Championship, Brian Jerauld, Chess.com, June 24th, 2013
• Daniel Naroditsky Earns GM Title, Michael Aigner, July 17th, 2013
• Daniel Naroditsky's Best Game: vs Isan Reynaldo Ortiz Suárez, Chess.com, February 7th, 2020
• Meet The Times’s New Chess Columnist, Deb Amlen, New York Times, June 12th, 2022
• Daniel Naroditsky, Chess Grandmaster, Dies at 29, Alexandra E. Petri, New York Times, 20th October 2025
• Daniel Naroditsky (9 November 1995 – 19 October 2025), André Schulz, Chessbase, 20th October 2025
• Daniel Naroditsky (1995–2025), FIDE, 20th October, 2025
• Daniel Naroditsky, Wikipedia