I (like many) started playing chess online during COVID and despite being too damn old, I wanted to see how high I could climb in ratings. Soon I found Danya, then Gotham, then IMRosen. All who loved this damn game so much. Even found I liked Hikaru though as an oldster, so many of his memes went over my head.
I soon realized that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be ranked, and I was fine with that because lichess had become an outlet. An outlet from the horrors of COVID. An outlet from the shock of a brutal war in Europe. An outlet from my failing marriage. An outlet from the world turned upside down in the US. I could always find solace in a rapid game on lichess.
Danya... I plateaued around 1400 and often found it hard to follow his gameplay on his speed runs. He was thinking 4-5 moves ahead while I was trying to avoid simple blunders. But Danya was easy to listen to, humble, and he helped instill a love in me of being very honest in my game evaluation. He also seemed like an incredibly charitable player; when it was obvious someone was cheating, he always gave them the benefit of the doubt, even when stockfish made it clear what was happening. His charity and kindness was endearing.
You might not ever get titled, but a 1400 online is very much good enough to join your national chess federation and be middle of the pack competitive in local rated chess tournaments and the like.
I feel weird doing a 'well actually' in a post about something so serious and sad, but it might be worth pointing this out to prevent someone from getting the wrong idea about their chess strength: the meaning of '1400 online' varies greatly depending on the site and the time control. According to https://chessgoals.com/rating-comparison/, Chesscom blitz 500 = Lichess classical 1400, and chesscom blitz 1400 = lichess rapid 1880. (I don't know how accurate that site is, but the general point is definitely true; AFAIK Lichess and Chesscom use different rating systems with different means, and within each site the strength of the player pool varies across the time controls.)
Similar story. One of my new hobbies from Covid. Also maybe too damn old ;) Ben Finegold was my YouTube teacher for the most part. I'm still improving (a bit higher than you) and sometimes questioning my sanity of having spent so many hours playing chess online. It's an addiction ;)
Danya seemed like a great person. Someone you'd want to hang out with. A great chess player for sure. I heard the news earlier and was filled with sadness. Such a loss.
This seems as good a place as any for a mini obituary.
I'm 6 years older than Danya, and we shared the same beloved chess coach in the Bay Area. I played him in a tournament game when I was 17 and he was 11, at the Mechanics Club in SF. I was an NM, and he held me to a draw. (Afterward he told me my position was better when we agreed to a draw, which was news to me!)
Around that time Danya won the World Under 12 Championship. Americans almost never win those events, and it was a big big deal in the American chess community.
But to me, most impressive was when in 2007, at age 12, in 6th or 7th grade, he won a much easier tournament, the California High School championship. I had won it the previous year, as an 11th grader - my crowning achievement. We all knew then that Naroditsky was a generational talent, but it was something special that this child - very tall for his age, but still oh so young - beat up all the serious high schooler competitors.
He then went to Stanford, and took an introductory CS course taught by my brother. Everything I heard indicated he was an exceptional contribution to Stanford's culture. He had such wide interests and curiosity, and became a history major. He probably was the most erudite chess player of his generation, reading (and writing!) books at a huge clip.
I remember vividly in his early streaming days, long before Danya became an internet chess celebrity, he was taking challenges while I was watching, so I logged in to the site and played him. I managed to beat him in a blitz game in front of all of his viewers. He was mad! I'm a strong blitz player but he is world-class, consistently a top ~10 blitz player in the world for the last 10 years. (I used to watch him on the old terminal-like chess server, the Internet Chess Club, under the handle "Danya", as he destroyed everyone while still a preteen and largely unknown.)
I don't want to add to the speculation to what happened to him. Suffice to say, I am not convinced by the story people are jumping to.
He will be deeply missed, and he will not be forgotten. He was absolutely unique and a gem of the chess world. Farewell, Danya.
Regarding the flagged/dead comment that links to concern about Daniel Naroditsky's health a few days ago, I don't think burrying our heads in the sand is correct approach now.
It might have been wise to respect his privacy and not talk about him publicly and while he was alive and could read it, but now that posting it cannot affect his mental health, perhaps mental health awareness is important to talk about.
(A side note, I still think the privacy of those who pass away is important, but I think talking about mental health is also important.)
Could have been an adverse reaction to Benadryl or his sleep disturbances could have been a warning sign.
"BeccaHarris: I took a Benadryl to make sure I got 8+ hours of sleep, it hit me a lot faster and harder than expected. before I knew it 15+ mins had passed and I nodded off a few times, and suddenly poeople were freaking ou"
I suggest we stop speculating about the cause of death and instead wait for an official announcement to be made. Please respect the family at this time.
Just watched his last stream that people were talking about on reddit, and his behavior was definitely strange. Saying random stuff then nodding off halfway, and being aggravated to put it simply.
Morbid curiosity is maybe natural but I think it's bad form for a bunch of online speculation into cause of death by armchair researchers. He's a real person and his family and friends are real people and they deserve freedom from that kind of speculation running wild across the Internet. There's no benefit for anyone, it's just curiosity that shouldn't be engaged in.
Danya was such an incredibly positive influence on the chess community, a tremendous teacher whose YouTube content I’m sure will remain popular for years to come, and my personal favorite chess commentator.
He was also only 29 years old.
I’m actually in tears right now struggling how to break this news to my son, who absolutely loved Danya and had a chance to play him OTB last year.
Really devastating. He was my favorite chess streamer and such a genuine person. I remember distinctly every time his opponent was suspected of cheating he was adamant in giving them the benefit of the doubt.
No matter what we find out in the next few days, I wish authorities had taken Kramnik’s cyber bullying more seriously. It’s a stain on chess that this is allowed to continue.
To take the conversation in a more technical direction, there are pretty clear parallels with “AI detector” technology which also could be (and I’m sure has been) life ruining. For both writing and chess, there are no authenticity detectors, only circumstantial evidence.
From what I understand, Kramnick pointed out Danya's behaviour was erratic and suspected alcohol or drug use (everyone else broached it much more sensitively, saying drugs was a ridiculous notion, and giving him space/privacy but perhaps suspecting possible mental health, mental breakdown, or maybe narcolepsy).
Kramnick may have been forthright and lacking tact, but it was clear from Danya's behaviours that he sadly had an underlying psychological condition that could happen to any of us.
Kramnik should be held accountable for making Danya's life hell the past year. Not blaming him for what has happened but this bullying has to stop. It was clear to me and many others that he started attacking Danya because he was a "Russian boy" who did not defend him when Hikaru mocked Kramnik. I'm really upset now so maybe not making much sense.
If you're not blaming him, then you shouldn't hold him accountable.
Kramnik has accused of online cheating virtually every grandmaster bar some of the top 10 and none in the community gives Kramnik much weight on this topic.
>> Kramnik should be held accountable for making Danya's life hell the past year
OP is not blaming him specifically for Danya's death. Irrespective of that, Kramnik is behaving like a total cunt and treated Danya like absolute shit for no reason beyond his own pathetic delusions.
Naroditsky isn't even the youngest person Kramnik has bullied: he's doxxed fucking children and accused them of cheating.
I watched Hikaru's YouTube video this morning and it's clear that Kramnik's accusations were getting to all of his victims. Naroditsky was giving Kramnik's opinion weight, whether he took his own life, or passed of other causes.
So yes, Kramnik needs to be shunned and frozen out of the chess world and any decent company for the way he's behaved.
I'm sure he said bad things about Danya, and even now he's protecting himself when he should be just sorry for what terrible thing has happened, but generally Danya was more liked than Kramnik, so he can't be responsible / accountable for something he doesn't have power over (Danya's life).
If you are famous, you will have haters, it's part of the deal.
I agree with the crowd who say that mental health issues should be taken seriously instead of kept under the rug.
A sad day for chess and chess fans around the world. I smiled when I saw this news posted here - Danya would have loved being among the nerds (I always saw him as one). I will never forget the final game, game 14 of WC2024 between Ding and Gukesh commentated by Peter Leko and Daniel. His reaction[1] at 4:18:40, when Ding blundered with Rf2 is priceless.
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqA9mvyI0j4
Readit News
I soon realized that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be ranked, and I was fine with that because lichess had become an outlet. An outlet from the horrors of COVID. An outlet from the shock of a brutal war in Europe. An outlet from my failing marriage. An outlet from the world turned upside down in the US. I could always find solace in a rapid game on lichess.
Danya... I plateaued around 1400 and often found it hard to follow his gameplay on his speed runs. He was thinking 4-5 moves ahead while I was trying to avoid simple blunders. But Danya was easy to listen to, humble, and he helped instill a love in me of being very honest in my game evaluation. He also seemed like an incredibly charitable player; when it was obvious someone was cheating, he always gave them the benefit of the doubt, even when stockfish made it clear what was happening. His charity and kindness was endearing.
The world is a much lesser place today.
But thank you for your kindness.
Danya seemed like a great person. Someone you'd want to hang out with. A great chess player for sure. I heard the news earlier and was filled with sadness. Such a loss.
I'm 6 years older than Danya, and we shared the same beloved chess coach in the Bay Area. I played him in a tournament game when I was 17 and he was 11, at the Mechanics Club in SF. I was an NM, and he held me to a draw. (Afterward he told me my position was better when we agreed to a draw, which was news to me!)
Around that time Danya won the World Under 12 Championship. Americans almost never win those events, and it was a big big deal in the American chess community.
But to me, most impressive was when in 2007, at age 12, in 6th or 7th grade, he won a much easier tournament, the California High School championship. I had won it the previous year, as an 11th grader - my crowning achievement. We all knew then that Naroditsky was a generational talent, but it was something special that this child - very tall for his age, but still oh so young - beat up all the serious high schooler competitors.
He then went to Stanford, and took an introductory CS course taught by my brother. Everything I heard indicated he was an exceptional contribution to Stanford's culture. He had such wide interests and curiosity, and became a history major. He probably was the most erudite chess player of his generation, reading (and writing!) books at a huge clip.
I remember vividly in his early streaming days, long before Danya became an internet chess celebrity, he was taking challenges while I was watching, so I logged in to the site and played him. I managed to beat him in a blitz game in front of all of his viewers. He was mad! I'm a strong blitz player but he is world-class, consistently a top ~10 blitz player in the world for the last 10 years. (I used to watch him on the old terminal-like chess server, the Internet Chess Club, under the handle "Danya", as he destroyed everyone while still a preteen and largely unknown.)
I don't want to add to the speculation to what happened to him. Suffice to say, I am not convinced by the story people are jumping to.
He will be deeply missed, and he will not be forgotten. He was absolutely unique and a gem of the chess world. Farewell, Danya.
It might have been wise to respect his privacy and not talk about him publicly and while he was alive and could read it, but now that posting it cannot affect his mental health, perhaps mental health awareness is important to talk about.
(A side note, I still think the privacy of those who pass away is important, but I think talking about mental health is also important.)
"BeccaHarris: I took a Benadryl to make sure I got 8+ hours of sleep, it hit me a lot faster and harder than expected. before I knew it 15+ mins had passed and I nodded off a few times, and suddenly poeople were freaking ou"
https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1obo71s/comment/nkhb...
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/06/sleep-disturb...
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He was also only 29 years old.
I’m actually in tears right now struggling how to break this news to my son, who absolutely loved Danya and had a chance to play him OTB last year.
No matter what we find out in the next few days, I wish authorities had taken Kramnik’s cyber bullying more seriously. It’s a stain on chess that this is allowed to continue.
To take the conversation in a more technical direction, there are pretty clear parallels with “AI detector” technology which also could be (and I’m sure has been) life ruining. For both writing and chess, there are no authenticity detectors, only circumstantial evidence.
The comments on that video was so kind and heartwarming where people wished him well.
While we don't know the exact cause, we can all agree that he was subjected to extreme bullying and no one stood up for him - most importantly FIDE!
Kramnick may have been forthright and lacking tact, but it was clear from Danya's behaviours that he sadly had an underlying psychological condition that could happen to any of us.
Kramnik has accused of online cheating virtually every grandmaster bar some of the top 10 and none in the community gives Kramnik much weight on this topic.
OP is not blaming him specifically for Danya's death. Irrespective of that, Kramnik is behaving like a total cunt and treated Danya like absolute shit for no reason beyond his own pathetic delusions.
Naroditsky isn't even the youngest person Kramnik has bullied: he's doxxed fucking children and accused them of cheating.
I watched Hikaru's YouTube video this morning and it's clear that Kramnik's accusations were getting to all of his victims. Naroditsky was giving Kramnik's opinion weight, whether he took his own life, or passed of other causes.
So yes, Kramnik needs to be shunned and frozen out of the chess world and any decent company for the way he's behaved.
If you are famous, you will have haters, it's part of the deal.
I agree with the crowd who say that mental health issues should be taken seriously instead of kept under the rug.