Deeply saddened, hard to believe: Pragg offers condolences on the passing of GM Daniel Naroditsky

New Delhi, Oct 21 Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa expressed his heartfelt condolences on the passing of US chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, saying it was hard to believe he would no longer witness his chess challenges.

Naroditsky’s sudden death at the age of 29 was announced on X by his family via the Charlotte Chess Centre.

"I'm deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Danya. Every time I logged into Chess.com, I would see his challenge for a game. It’s hard to believe that I won’t see it anymore. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones," Praggnanandha shared on X.

Naroditsky was found dead at his San Jose residence in California earlier this week. Authorities have yet to release an official cause of death, but early reports indicate no signs of foul play, according to a report in Marca.

In 2007, he earned the FIDE Master title and won the U-12 section of the World Youth Chess Championship. He shared second place at the 2010 US Open, became an International Master in 2011, and won the US Junior Championship in 2013. That same year, he achieved the title of Grandmaster. His peak FIDE classical rating was 2647, reached in May 2017.

He has written several books on chess, starting with Mastering Positional Chess, which he published at the age of 14, having begun writing it when he was just ten years old.

Naroditsky frequently appeared as a commentator for prominent chess events, particularly on Chess.com. Outside the chess arena, Naroditsky played a crucial role in promoting chess content online, bridging the gap between professional and amateur chess.

He also ran highly popular Twitch and YouTube channels. He was praised for his ability to calmly and simply explain the game to players of all levels. His YouTube channel gained nearly 500,000 subscribers, and his Twitch stream attracted 340,000 followers.

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