Plane of the Week and Weekly Newsletter 10/22/2025

PLANES & CHESS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

10/14/2025

Remembering Daniel Naroditsky

On October 20th, 2025, the Charlotte Chess Center announced the death of American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky at the young age of 29. Naroditsky was an author and tournament commentator, but his primary passion was chess streaming. His cause of death was not announced, but the Center provided this statement: 

"It is with great sadness that we share the unexpected passing of Daniel Naroditsky. Daniel 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." 

Daniel Naroditsky was born in San Mateo, California on November 9th, 1995 to Vladimir and Lena Naroditsky. In 2007, he won the Under 12 section of the Youth Chess Championship. In 2010, he became the youngest published chess author upon the release of his book, Mastering Positional Chess: Practical Lessons of a Junior World Champion. In 2013, he earned the title of Grandmaster at age 18. He attended Stanford University, and moved to Charlotte, NC in 2020. He was the resident GM at the Charlotte Chess Center and the chess puzzle columnist at the New York Times, and an extremely active content creator on Youtube and Twitch, with over 340,000 followers.

Throughout his chess career, Daniel Naroditsky gained the loyal following of thousands across the globe, and inspired countless minds, young and old, to pursue the game of chess with joy and excitement. Through his streams and commentary, he inspired a generation of chess enthusiasts.

Rest in peace, Daniel Naroditsky.                                                                                                                                  

Plane of the Week: SR-71 Blackbird

The legendary SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest conventional plane ever to fly. Able to exceed speeds of Mach 3 and altitudes of over 85,000 feet, it set 4 speed records in a single flight and the world altitude record for sustained horizontal flight. Developed as a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft in the top secret and legendary Skunk Works facility, the Blackbird first flew on Dec. 22nd, 1964 and flew 942 missions thereafter.

Able to fly faster than a speeding bullet, it outran or jammed every single one of the 4,000+ missiles that were fired at over its career, and not a single Blackbird was shot down. At such speeds, the skin of the Blackbird heated to over a thousand degrees and it expanded 3-4 inches at top speed, because matter expands in heat. It was constructed of 93% titanium, and it wasn't just painted black. Black pigment was microscopically bonded with the metal to absorb radar waves.

After 24 years of record-breaking service, the SR-71 was retired from USAF service in 1990. SR-71s continued to fly for NASA, and on various missions, until the final one was retired around 2000. But to this day, the legacy of the Blackbird lives on in museums and through its incredible records, and will be remembered as one of the most legendary aircraft ever to exist.

*While the SR-71 holds the official speed record, its predecessor, the A-12, technically flew faster.

Gambit of the Week: The Alapin Gambit

Fittingly, the Alapin Gambit was a favorite of the late GM Naroditsky. Hailed as an exciting way to crush the Sicilian Defense, the Alapin is an aggressive yet decently sound opening to destroy your Sicilian-playing opponents. There are numerous traps, with the main one being the one shown above. The Alapin is initiated by a pawn sacrifice to counter the Sicialin's common line, and this traps draws inspiration from the ICBM gambit, sacrificing a knight and bishop for a queen. There are numerous other traps in this gambit, and I have pasted a KaspaChess explainer video below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI7ewJVkSi8

Chess News

GM Daniel Naroditsky Dies at 29 (10/19/2025): Young American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky has died at 29. His death was announced by the Charlotte Chess Center in a joint statement with his family on October 20th. No cause of death was provided.

Speed Chess Championship: Round 1 Wraps Up (Current): Round 1 of the Speed Chess Championship is wrapping up, with only a few matches still in progress. GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Denis Lazavik, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Hikaru Nakamura, and GM Wesley So make up the current list of players moving to round 2.

Weekly Chess Riddle 

A piece to be captured,

Condemned to die,

Seeks to set the enemy awry.

A final move, a stunning capture,

Causes the enemy position to rapture.

The last stand,

Of the dying piece,

Securing material before its cease.

What am I?

Trophies will be awarded to the first correct answer. The answer and explanation will be in the next edition.

Previous Riddle Answer:

The answer was the ICBM.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Plane Trivia

What was the first jet-powered aircraft? Only answer if you know it already for 5 trophies.                                                                                                                                                                                        

Club Happenings

Red signifies “new” news

New Members: Planes & Chess would like to welcome its newest members, @KaRussel2, @WalterRussell3, @Campbell0003, and @Bird-Nerd-1!

Tournaments: Planes & Chess has numerous club tournaments waiting to start, including a chess960 tournament. Please join!

Dogfight Chess: Please join the latest Planes & Chess Dogfight Chess Tournament!

Vote Chess: We are playing in numerous vote chess matches against KLM Airlines, ISM Chess Crew, Baseball Chess Crew, and others. Good luck and play well!                                                                                           

Tournament Tracker  

Dogfight Chess (Status: Open for Registration):

https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess-presents-dogfight-chess-no-4-1

Club Daily Match (Open for registration):

https://www.chess.com/daily-team/seek/3226831

Regular Daily Chess (Status: open for registration):

https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess-presents-daily-chess

Chess960 Daily Chess (Status: None): 

https://www.chess.com/club/matches/1859955

Vote Chess (Status: open for registration):

https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/374078

https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/395945

Member Activity

Member @Bird-Nerd-1 was the most active member this week. Great job!           

To compete to be listed, post in the forums, chat, answer the riddle, and partake in other club-related activities.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Editor’s Note

Hello and welcome to edition No. 14! We're still so close to 40 members- invite your friends! In addition, as mentioned under "Club Happenings", we are playing in a club Chess960 match and Daily match that need more players. Please join. Sorry- This edition was was a bit late.

Thanks for reading!