Chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky ’19 MA ’20 passes away at 29 

Daniel Naroditsky ’19 MA ’20, chess grandmaster and Stanford alum, passed away on Oct. 19. Friends and family are mourning the impact he had on Stanford, the chess community and the lives of everyone he touched. 

Naroditsky’s family said in an official statement, “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.” 

They requested privacy during this time.  

Naroditsky was born and raised in the Bay Area and attended Crystal Springs Uplands School for middle school and most of high school. 

“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… His loss is felt deeply within the Crystal community,” Kelly Sortino, Crystal Springs Uplands School’s Head of School, wrote to The Daily. 

According to Naroditsky’s close friend Phillip Weiss ’19 MS ’20, he found an early passion for chess in his youth, beginning a career that won him several titles. Naroditsky was one of the most accomplished American players of his generation. He was a former World Youth Champion and the youngest published chess author at 14.

He earned his Grandmaster title in 2013, which is the highest title a chess player can receive, awarded by the International Chess Foundation (FIDE), and is held for life. He went on to represent the U.S. in international competitions and won the 2025 U.S. National Blitz Championship with a perfect score. At the time of his death, Naroditsky was ranked among the world’s top 25 blitz players. 

“It was always extremely clear to me that chess was the love of his life, and that he would be pursuing it professionally, even if it wasn’t clear to him,” Weiss said. 

Naroditsky’s chess accomplishments, while numerous, did not fully encapsulate the person he was. Weiss noted that Naroditsky loved late-night dining, horror movies, chess pranks, basketball and more. 

“I remember, freshman year, we went to Wilbur together, and we both got pho,” Weiss said. “And I remember eating the pho, being like, ‘I don’t like this very much.’ And then he was like, ‘It’s so good.’ And it started this tradition of, every week, he would go and get Wilbur pho. And he eventually got a car on campus, and he would drive almost every weekend to get pho in Mountain View.”

At Stanford, Naroditsky discovered passions, friendships and anonymity as a regular student, which allowed him to enjoy a transformative educational experience. He was engaged in the Stanford Chess Club and the Jewish Students Association on campus. 

“Coming to Stanford was a big shift for him,” Weiss said. “He’d spent so much of his childhood traveling for tournaments and missing school, so I think college was one of the first times he could make close friends in one place.”

Naroditsky had initially planned to be a computer science major, but switched to history where he found a passion for Russian language, literature and history, according to Weiss. 

Naroditsky distinguished himself from the greater chess community for his ability to mentor and communicate, Weiss added. Through the Stanford humanities, local chess columns and his two published books, Naroditsky managed to write pieces that humanized chess. He was a columnist for Chess.com, writing pieces about tactics to time management, to chess fun facts.

“He was a wonderful teacher and communicator and he was extremely insightful,” Weiss said. “I think most people who are at the top of the chess world don’t have that ability.”

Naroditsky became a head coach at the Charlotte Chess Center, continuing his work of sharing his passion for the game. 

“I remember watching him write a Chess.com column at 11 p.m.,” Weiss said. “He just sat down and typed furiously for about 45 minutes. A week later, I read it, and it was incredible. It flowed out of him like a musician composing a piece.” 

According to Weiss, Naroditsky’s experiences at Stanford helped him grow and flourish into the impactful figure and thoughtful person he became.

“And not Daniel the chess player. I think Stanford shaped Daniel the person,” Weiss said.

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