This past week Daniel Naroditsky, a very talented and beloved chess player, shockingly passed away at the young age of 29. He had a brilliant mind for the game and was a pivotal figure in the growth of chess into the mainstream during the pandemic. His streams of himself playing the game became hugely successful as he possessed the unique talent of being both very proficient as well as being able to narrate his games in a way that made even casual viewers understand what was going on on the board and in his mind.

Unfortunately Daniel became the victim of a targeted harassment campaign by former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, who firmly believed and claimed Daniel was a cheater, despite never showing any proof to back up these claims. Kramnik was relentless and brought a bunch of unwarranted negativity towards Daniel and several other players. Even when Daniel played very well at top level events, such as the past Blitz & Rapid World Championship, Kramnik seemed to ignore it and continue his crusade.

As this kept going on, Daniel mentioned multiple times the negative effect it was having on himself mentally. A few days prior to his death, he streamed for the last time and was noticeable in a bad mental state.

He was found dead by his friends who went to check on him the morning after. As of now no cause of death has been revealed, but all the signs unfortunately point toward a suicide of some sort.

I'm personally very troubled and sad with his passing. I loved listening to Daniel playing and also spectating/narrating games between other top players at events. I'm also incredibly angry that things got to this point and nothing was done to stop Kramnik from his nonsense, even when it was clear it was having an effect on several players. Thankfully there seems to be movement on that matter but it is too late for Daniel.

It's a stark reminder of the possible effects online hate, bullying, and harassment can have on someone's psyche. Even among adults. A brilliant young mind is now gone and a whole community is grieving.

I was shocked when I heard the news the other day. I wasn't involved in the chess community enough to know about the allegations that Kramnik had been making, but I was very familiar with Daniel from his commentary and coaching work during the various iterations of Chess.com's PogChamps event. He was one of my favorite commentators, and "Daniel Naroditsky is a ____ prophet" is a line that even casual chess fans can recite. Very sad news.

I loved watching those tournaments! I know a portion of the chess community was firmly against them as in their eyes it lowered the 'prestige' of the game of chess, but honestly I always thought that was a load of crap. The healthiest thing for the game is to inspire new young kids, and older folks as well of course, to play the game and fall in love with it. Honestly that's a whole topic I could get into but this thread isn't the place for it.

Daniel was a supporter and was enthusiastic about the tournament, and that moment when Charlie beat XQC in a shock checkmate was the highlight of the whole thing.

I really hope that positive attitude and excitement Daniel had for bringing chess to a bunch of kids, youngsters, elders keeps living on in the community.