GM Daniel Naroditsky, the popular U.S. grandmaster, commentator, creator, educator, and author, unexpectedly passed away on Sunday at the age of only 29.
I don’t normally get affected by celebrity deaths, but this is awful. Danya was one of the most kindhearted people in the chess community. As a commentator he made the game fun, accessible, and very entertaining. He was one of the very few people who both commentated regularly and still played at the highest level. He was a driven competitor, and was always a serious contender to win any speed chess event he was in.
I don’t normally get affected by celebrity deaths, but this is awful. Danya was one of the most kindhearted people in the chess community. As a commentator he made the game fun, accessible, and very entertaining. He was one of the very few people who both commentated regularly and still played at the highest level. He was a driven competitor, and was always a serious contender to win any speed chess event he was in.
What a huge blow to the chess community. :(