Daniel Naroditsky's Brilliant Moves On Chess.com

GM Daniel Naroditsky, Chess.com's lead commentator, is known for his career as a strong player (2647 peak rating) and his ability to break down the game for audiences of all levels. From writing instructive articles to commentating on elite chess events to having played nearly 80,000 games on Chess.com, his passion for the royal game could hardly be more apparent.

Check out this great video from FM James Canty III:

This article explores his most brilliant games played on Chess.com. Our Game Review feature flagged all brilliant (!!) moves, and I selected 10 top-notch examples. With more than 3,000 flagged games, he's played just short of 10,000 brilliant moves between blitz and bullet.

In the examples below, we're not just talking about queen sacrifices—we're talking about throwing in the kitchen sink, the house, the keys, the dog, and the front doormat. As the games below demonstrate, "Danya" has a knack for combinational and combustive play, and I hope the selection below inspires you as much as it has me. 

• Carlsen-Naroditsky 2022
• Naroditsky-lonelyqueen0 2021
• Tang-Naroditsky 2020
• Naroditsky-Liang 2021
• Jacobson-Naroditsky 2021
• Naroditsky-Kollars 2021
• Abdrlauf-Naroditsky 2021
• Norowitz-Naroditsky 2022
• Naroditsky-Martinez 2022
• Le-Naroditsky 2021

Carlsen-Naroditsky 2022

If you can defeat the world champion, you can defeat anybody. On October 12, 2022, our featured player faced GM Magnus Carlsen in a six-hour blitz match, which was decided 30.5-24.5 in favor of the Norwegian champion. That's not a bad margin for Naroditsky nevertheless, and surely both players remember the following game, where Naroditsky played two brilliant moves, sacrificing the exchange and then a piece to obliterate the hapless white king. 

Naroditsky-lonelyqueen0

Most chess players are happy to play a single brilliant move. Naroditsky has a few where he plays up to four, sometimes consecutively, in a single blitz game. In fact, in this one vs. GM Eric Hansen he chalks up five, but it doesn't make it into this selection.

GM lonelyqueen0 (a strong player's anonymous account) fell under a brutal attack: a rook sacrifice offered for two moves, followed by a knight sacrifice, followed by an exchange sacrifice. Game Review gives Naroditsky four brilliant moves in a row with a great move (!), the fifth, to finish the game. 

Tang-Naroditsky 2020

Against GM Andrew Tang, Naroditsky managed to pull off another four brilliant moves in one game, although sadly in this example they are not all consecutive. After already sacrificing a bishop and rook, he offers his second rook by move 24 (it cannot be taken) in a style reminiscent of the great GM Mikhail Tal. 

Naroditsky-Liang 2021

There is no shortage of games containing four brilliant moves. Playing against GM Awonder Liang, Naroditsky first plays to trap the black queen, but later transforms the time gained into an attack on the black king. Caution: if sacrifices make you uneasy, this may not be the game for you. 

Jacobson-Naroditsky 2021

GM Brandon Jacobson is a talented, young grandmaster—I would know firsthand, as I've been on the receiving end of his brilliant tactical vision in tournaments in New Jersey since he was a teeny NM. But in the following game, experience prevailed as Naroditsky threw the kitchen sink at this young attacker's own king, notching three consecutive brilliant moves followed by a "great" one. 

Naroditsky-Kollars 2021

The next game, against GM Dmitrij Kollars, features a knight hanging on f5 for several moves, and its capture is playable on every move! This game has three brilliant moves in this game—the third ought to make you gasp.

Abdrlauf-Naroditsky 2021

Against IM Elham Abdrlauf (rated 2929), Naroditsky kicks off a combination with a beautiful clearance sacrifice (19...Bxc3!!) that seems to materialize out of the blue. A rook sacrifice and a knight sacrifice follow to ensnare the white king in the end. 

Norowitz-Naroditsky 2022

Considering how many games IM Yaacov Norowitz has played on Chess.com, he loves playing just about as much as Naroditsky. He boasts over 70,000 games at the moment (and it will probably be much higher when you read this, future readers). In this game, Naroditsky sacrifices a bishop and two rooks over the course of a dizzying attack. 

Naroditsky-Martinez 2022

If you follow Titled Tuesday, Arena Kings, or virtually any Chess.com event with titled players, you've probably seen GM Jose Martinez play. The Peruvian blitzer was on the receiving end of a brilliancy here, however, as he fell victim to a powerful bishop sacrifice followed by a queen sacrifice on the next move.

Le-Naroditsky 2021

We close our journey with the game that, in my opinion, has the best finale: three brilliant moves, played consecutively, against GM Tuan Minh Le, provocatively leaving his queen en prise on the last two moves.