Alan Kirshner, a youth chess tournament organizer and political science professor, had for years been evasive when asked if he\u2019d ever seen a chess \u201cprodigy.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed when he first saw San Mateo\u2019s Daniel Naroditsky, then a first-grader, in action.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was apparent from the way he concentrated and was focused, but was relaxed at the same time,\u201d said Kirshner, a retired Ohlone College of Fremont political science and history professor. \u201cI ran to his dad, grabbed him by the arm and said, \u2018He is a prodigy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The youngster proved Kirshner prophetic. He ultimately rose to the level of chess grandmaster \u2014 the highest ranking possible \u2014 while authoring a series of strategy books and eventually appealing to a new generation of chess enthusiasts through social media.<\/p>\n
Naroditsky\u2019s star unexpectedly dimmed Monday as his death was announced by the Charlotte Chess Center, where the 29-year-old had worked as a coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet 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,\u201d the North Carolina center posted on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n The center added: \u201cDaniel 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.\u201d<\/p>\n No cause of death was given by the center, nor were funeral arrangements announced.<\/p>\n Naroditsky was born in San Mateo and competed throughout the Bay Area as a youngster.<\/p>\n Although he impressed Kirshner as a first-grader, it was four years later when Naroditsky won the 32nd annual CalChess Scholastic competition<\/a> high school bracket as a fifth-grader. The tournament is the equivalent of the Northern California championships.<\/p>\n Kirshner wrote in a recap of the event that Naroditsky was the youngest champion at that high-school-level competition in tournament history.<\/p>\n Fortunately for Naroditsky\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Naroditsky had bigger goals, though.<\/p>\n In December, he employed a chess tactic known as the \u201cSicilian Defense\u201d to defeat Russia\u2019s Ivan Bukavshin<\/a> in the final round of a two-hour match for the Under-12 World Youth Chess Championship in Antalya, Turkey.<\/p>\n The following year, Naroditsky enrolled in sixth grade at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Belmont, Calif., and attended school there for two years.<\/p>\n After a year off, he re-enrolled in the local high school as a 10th-grader in 2011.<\/p>\n The school posted a 2011 update from Naroditsky\u2019s brother<\/a>, Alan, who noted Daniel had earned the international master title, the second-highest honor in the chess world.<\/p>\n A year earlier, the 14-year-old Naroditsky published his first chess strategy book, \u201cMastering Positional Chess<\/a>.\u201d In 2015, he added a second book, \u201cMastering Complex Endgames: Practical Lessons on Critical Ideas & Plans<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Naroditsky enjoyed a banner 2013 that included winning the U.S. Junior Chess Championship in June<\/a>, while earning the coveted title of grandmaster in July<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2019, Naroditsky graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor\u2019s degree in history.<\/p>\n Shortly after his graduation, he began to post chess strategy videos on YouTube<\/a> and other platforms, including Twitch. He gained 500,000 YouTube followers.<\/p>\n