Love for Daniel "Danya" Naroditsky - The U.S. Community Comes Together in Charlotte, NC

     As a player, journalist and overall fan of chess, I can definitely say that Daniel “Danya” Naroditsky was the beating heart of all these things. Despite missing my chance to interview him myself, I met him a few times and followed his career every step of the way. From rising Junior to phenomenal writer to one of the worlds fastest players to well spoken commentator, he never stopped impressing me. And, he was 100% a homegrown talent, a product of the best chess players the United States has to offer. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you would like to support the Charlotte Chess Center and the Naroditsky family - please give HERE. 

     That is why the 2026 Naroditsky Memorial was a spectacular event, the likes of which the US has not seen for decades. The key defining element: it was accessible to all levels of players, amateur, master and grandmaster. I am humbled and grateful to be a part of the first in hopefully a long line of absolutely stacked tournaments that brought together most top U.S. players, content creators and chess fans. The deep meaning in the name, Danya, is particularly apparent in what FM Alisa Melekhina told me in the VIP room during the playoffs for the 10th finals spot:

     “I grew up playing in the World Youth Championships, and I have fond memories of Danya Naroditsky being on those World Youth teams. I was a few age categories ahead of him, but we were part of the US national team, so obviously when I heard the news, I was just shocked and devastated. I have very fond memories of him as an up and coming star with such a passion and love for chess, and so much potential, you know, author, just really someone who gave everything he could to the game."

Melekhina continued: 

"And, it was just such a tragedy; it stayed in the back of my mind. I'm not a very active player these days, but I do like to play in unique events, and this one stood out to me because it was a memorial event, so I thought it would be special, and something that would inspire me to play.

And, I was also motivated, because I unfortunately lost my own dad at the beginning of the year to a very sudden heart attack, and he was just always a part of my chess journey, and many players remember him as being by my side every single tournament growing up, so I've also been doing memorials and tributes to my own dad. I was very touched with the outreach from the chess community, and so I thought that coming to this tournament and being a part of that camaraderie would also be a healing process for me”

     We all needed the time and space for healing. I have felt absolutely heartbroken since I heard the news. Everyone in the community has been so shocked that something like this could happen. As a PSA - if you or anyone you know is thinking of self harm, please call the U.S. national hotline at 988.  Tell a friend or family member. There is always so much more to live for no matter what troubles come our way.

      I am grateful to the Naroditsky family and the Charlotte Chess Center for giving us all the chance to celebrate Danya’s memory—for giving me a chance to capture some of the weekend's events. My uncle passed away just after Danya so I haven't had much time to process everything. Life is so short and I cannot help feeling driven to capture as much as I can of the people and events that surround our beautiful little community. People like Danya, people like his fans, people in general make the chess world go round.

Onto the Action with a little humor from Danya's good friend, GM Kayden Troff:

(Absolutely don't believe the act - he is never scared of anyone)

     My own tournament went rather poorly with 3 wins and 4 losses in the rapid portion all playing lower rated players by at least 250 points. I dropped out of the blitz after sleeping very poorly for three straight nights. But, the misfortunes of one player lead to the victories of another. I was so particularly impressed with the play of my 2nd round opponent, Senna Kawji, that I interviewed her the next day and she told me that she was able to play a top content creator and legendary popularizer of the game, WFM Alexandra Botez! 

Kawji said, “Oh my god, I'm playing a legend, like all that kind of thing. And I didn't expect much, it's like, you know, "I'm just gonna have fun. I see all these cameras around me, like, "Just ignore them, all that kind of thing. And at the very end, like, it was.. it was just a draw…”

 Or was it?

     Poor Botez. She ran out of time, flagged, and lost! Losing on time is one of many perils of speed chess. It appears that she just flagged in an incredibly equal position where she could have made a draw every single day in classical. According to chess.com, they played with incredible accuracy with 97% for Kawji and 96% for Botez. That is very high for speed chess showing how much everyone has improved since the pandemic and post-pandemic chess booms. 
 (Funny note, I was watching Andrea Botez's game when she flagged but her opponent didn't notice and gave up a draw! I bet that's cause for sibling ribbing) 

     Needless to say, Kawji was very excited and had a spectacular event. But, that excitement and joy didn’t stop her from reflecting on what Danya meant to everyone:

“I was a tournament director for Super Nationals, and there was a Charlotte Chess Center area, like a little booth for them, and Danya was just, anyone that came up to him for help or anything, he would stop what he was doing, just help them…

 And obviously, when the bad news broke out, literally, you saw everyone in the chess world unite over that. This tournament's huge, everyone here, there's people that said, I've never played a tournament before, but this, they saw how Danya maybe inspired them, and they're like, I want to have my first tournament here. It's truly a wonderful experience. I'm glad I'm here. I want to pay tribute.”

     To me this is the mark of a truly great person. I hope, when I play my final chess game, people say that I was as kind and personable as Danya was. It’s not just Alisa, it’s not just Senna. It’s not just every friend that I have in the chess U.S. community. It’s everyone. Everyone knew him as a super-talent, yes, but everyone also knew him as the highest caliber of human being.

He was a role model for us all. 

–

     I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how insane of an event NM Ethan Sheehan had. I can say as a 25+ year fan of consuming top level chess tournaments and a 10+ year veteran journalist reporting on massive events like the World Championship, I have never seen a performance by a National Master against this stacked a field of GMs. He finished 3rd overall just behind the likes of the World Championship Challenger, Javokhir Sindarov and currently 3rd highest rated US player Wesley So. 

     Check out this fun photo that I snapped of him playing former FIDE World Champ Ruslan Ponomariov with future victim of Super Nova Sheehan, GM Hikaru Nakamura, watching on.

He’s only 17 so let’s hope there is more from this kid in the near future because he was definitely channeling Danya’s speed chess prowess!

Here’s Sheehan’s round three win in the Masters Final against one of the fastest chess players to ever live, GM Hikaru Nakamura:

Complete list of GMs that Sheehan beat in the blitz - Awonder Liang, Aydin Suleymanli, Arturs Neiksans, Grigoriy Oparin, Olexandr Bortnyk, Ruslan Ponomariov, Semen Khanin, Hikaru Nakamura, Mukhiddin Madaminov, Vasif Durarbayli, Sam Sevian, 
He also had draws against Dominguez, Woodward and Sindarov! Unfortunately, Wesley So had his number beating him in the qualifier and finals.  But, I'm just astounded at this result! What a fitting way for the 2026 Naroditsky Memorial to end with an incredible run by an unlikely hero.

Congrats to all the winners and until next time,

Summer Dylan 

aka Coach Q - www.coachqchess.com

PS - The ONLY AI used in this article was for transcription of the Alisa and Senna interviews. All other writing and editing was done with my own human mind. I don't make money off of this blog so please do visit my website above and take some chess lessons if you are so inclined! I am a 2100 rated US Chess Candidate Master - in fact on the way home from the tournament I looked up my chart and have no fewer than 8 Candidate Master norms. LOL.