Alan Kirshner, a youth chess tournament organizer and political science professor, had for years been evasive when asked if he’d ever seen a chess “prodigy.”
That changed when he first saw San Mateo’s Daniel Naroditsky, then a first-grader, in action.
“It was apparent from the way he concentrated and was focused, but was relaxed at the same time,” said Kirshner, a retired Ohlone College of Fremont political science and history professor. “I ran to his dad, grabbed him by the arm and said, ‘He is a prodigy.’”
The youngster proved Kirshner prophetic. He ultimately rose to the level of chess grandmaster — the highest ranking possible — while authoring a series of strategy books and eventually appealing to a new generation of chess enthusiasts through social media.
Naroditsky’s star unexpectedly dimmed Monday as his death was announced by the Charlotte Chess Center, where the 29-year-old had worked as a coach.
“Let us remember Daniel for his passion and love for the game of chess, and for the joy and inspiration he brought to us all every day,” the North Carolina center posted on social media.
The center added: “Daniel was a talented chess player, commentator, and educator and a cherished member of the chess community, admired and respected by fans and players around the world. He was also a loving son and brother, and a loyal friend to many.”
No cause of death was given by the center, nor were funeral arrangements announced.
Naroditsky was born in San Mateo and competed throughout the Bay Area as a youngster.
Although he impressed Kirshner as a first-grader, it was four years later when Naroditsky won the 32nd annual CalChess Scholastic competition high school bracket as a fifth-grader. The tournament is the equivalent of the Northern California championships.
Kirshner wrote in a recap of the event that Naroditsky was the youngest champion at that high-school-level competition in tournament history.
Fortunately for Naroditsky’s competitors, he was too young to represent Northern California in the Denker Tournament of state high school champions later that year, which was reserved for high schoolers only.
Naroditsky had bigger goals, though.
In December, he employed a chess tactic known as the “Sicilian Defense” to defeat Russia’s Ivan Bukavshin in the final round of a two-hour match for the Under-12 World Youth Chess Championship in Antalya, Turkey.
The following year, Naroditsky enrolled in sixth grade at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Belmont, Calif., and attended school there for two years.
After a year off, he re-enrolled in the local high school as a 10th-grader in 2011.
The school posted a 2011 update from Naroditsky’s brother, Alan, who noted Daniel had earned the international master title, the second-highest honor in the chess world.
A year earlier, the 14-year-old Naroditsky published his first chess strategy book, “Mastering Positional Chess.” In 2015, he added a second book, “Mastering Complex Endgames: Practical Lessons on Critical Ideas & Plans.”
Naroditsky enjoyed a banner 2013 that included winning the U.S. Junior Chess Championship in June, while earning the coveted title of grandmaster in July.
In 2019, Naroditsky graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in history.
Shortly after his graduation, he began to post chess strategy videos on YouTube and other platforms, including Twitch. He gained 500,000 YouTube followers.
His final, hourlong video, posted Friday, was entitled, “You thought I was gone! Speedrun returns!”
“I’ve been sort of taking kind of a creative break, deciding future avenues of content,” Naroditsky said. “So, I won’t delve too much into it right now because I know everyone is excited about some chess game.”
Crystal Springs school official Kelly Sortino said the campus was “deeply saddened by the passing.”
“During his years at Crystal, Daniel was known not only for his extraordinary intellect and chess mastery, but also for his warmth, humility, and kindness,” Sortino wrote in an emailed statement. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones, as well as to all who were inspired by his talent and character. His loss is felt deeply within the Crystal community.”
