Daniel Naroditsky Coached Alireza Firouzja Just Weeks Before His Death
As the chess world continues to grapple with the profound loss of American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 29, world No. 6 Alireza Firouzja took to X, expressing his grief while also revealing that Naroditsky had recently coached him.
The chess world only learned about their partnership through Firouzja’s post. Alireza described how “Danya” agreed to the gig last-minute, taking care of all the logistics in just a few hours to help the super GM at such a vital tournament as the Grand Swiss. “We spent an amazing half month together. I’ll always be grateful for those days and everything I learned from him,” acknowledged Firouzja.
A fan replied: “Still remember the late-night bullet games you played with him during the Candidates.”
Yes, Daniel was also famously known to have played a 250-game hyper-bullet match against Alireza Firouzja after Alireza suffered a loss to Nakamura during the 2022 FIDE Candidates. Apart from Nakamura and Nihal Sarin, Firouzja was one of Danya’s most frequent opponents—having played him in thousands of online games over the course of a decade.Firouzja concluded by echoing the sentiment shared by others: “Danya, your legacy lives on forever. I’m sure somewhere up there, you’re playing blitz and discussing history with the greats.”
No official cause of death has been released as of yet, though reports suggest it was investigated as a possible suicide or overdose, with his family requesting privacy. Tributes continue to flood in, including a minute of silence at the ongoing U.S. Chess Championship as well as the European Chess Club Cup being held in Rhodes, Greece.
Photo courtesy: Michal Walusza
