Nakamura Headlines $50,000 Naroditsky Memorial Rapid & Blitz

GM Hikaru Nakamura tops the field in the first Naroditsky Memorial Rapid & Blitz, set for July 3–5 at the Charlotte Marriott City Center in Charlotte, United States. The event will bring together some of the world's strongest speed chess players, leading creators, and the chess community for a three-day festival honoring the late GM Daniel Naroditsky.

The grandmaster tragically passed away in October, but his memory lives on. The Memorial reflects the rare space Naroditsky occupied in the chess world, as both a world-class speed chess player and one of the game’s most respected and beloved voices. Fittingly, the weekend bridges elite competition with the vibrant creator community he helped inspire.

Nakamura tops the field in a lineup that is likely set to be one of the strongest speed chess events of the year. He enters as the favorite, but he is bound to get fierce competition from stars such as GMs Wesley So, Hans Niemann, Nihal Sarin, Oleksandr Bortnyk, Leinier Dominguez, Javokhir Sindarov, Awonder Liang, Sam Shankland, and Aravindh Chithambaram.

The event also unites top-level professionals with streamers and creators, bringing forward the spirit of making chess accessible and entertaining. Among them are IM Levy Rozman, Andrea Botez, WFM Alexandra Botez, WGM Dina Belenkaya, IM Eric Rosen, GM Aman Hambleton, IM Sagar Shah, IM Julien Song, IM John Bartholomew, and IM Danny Rensch, who will compete in the Creator Invitational Blitz event. 

The Naroditsky Memorial is built around four main events:

• Rapid Championship (Friday): 7 rounds, with Masters and Challengers sections
• Blitz Championship (Saturday): 11 rounds, with Masters and Challengers sections
• Creator Invitational: Featuring 10 of the world's top creators
• Blitz Final (Sunday): The final featuring the top 10 Masters from Sunday

The event, limited to a capacity of 300 players, features a guaranteed $50,000 prize fund and is open to all professionals and amateurs. 

The tournament is made possible thanks to the Naroditsky Memorial Fellowship Fund, which has raised more than $1 million to date.

"As a close friend of Danya, I am honored to lead the Naroditsky Memorial Rapid and Blitz event and the Memorial Fund,” said FM Peter Giannatos, Founding Executive Director of the Charlotte Chess Center. “Our mission is to ensure Danya's positive influence on the game continues through the next generation of players."

Our mission is to ensure Danya's positive influence on the game continues through the next generation of players.
—Peter Giannatos, Charlotte Chess Center Founder

"I am incredibly grateful to the players and creators for their participation, and to all the sponsors and supporters for their vital contributions. We are committed to doing this right, and I hope we make him proud."

In addition to staging the Rapid & Blitz, the fund also supports the Naroditsky Fellowship, a scholarship program that will help talented young players pursue chess at the highest level.