GM Daniel Naroditsky

I played in a chess tournament last weekend where my opponent recognized me from the Boylston Club in Boston 7 years ago. He was 11 or 12 years old at the time, and we were both rated ~1900 when he beat me back then. Now he's a college student, 2300, and significantly larger. I didn't recognize him at all.

Time flies. And the chess world is small.

I often feel connected to things, some more directly than others. A couple days ago, Daniel Naroditsky unexpectedly died. This news hits closer to home than usual.

We didn't know each other well at all. One of my high school teammates just happened to be his roommate in college. If I recall correctly, we hung out over pizza and beer when I visited.

I remember Danya was a polymath: very witty, interested in history, and obviously brilliant. He was curious, kind, fun to chat with, and we didn't even play chess because we all knew he would smoke us blindfolded with knight odds.

It's amazing to see legends like Kasparov and Anand battling 30 years after their world championship match. I love listening to Judit Polgar and Peter Leko commentate. With Carlsen and Nakamura just now having their first children, one naturally assumes our generation will get to see the same kind of longevity...

But alas, Daniel was a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday. It's unbelievably sad that his decades ahead got cut off so abruptly.

Before I moved to SF to get my start in tech, I interviewed with Peter and Grant at the Charlotte Chess Club. It was 2019, and I was looking for my next move after Saint Louis. They were building an awesome new institution, team, and culture.

Somewhere in the multiverse, there's a me who surely worked with Daniel, and perhaps became close friends...

I'm sure we're still having fun out there.