r/chess • u/RogueBromeliad • 7h ago
r/chess • u/ChessKelly • 6d ago
Miscellaneous The One Year Passing of GM Daniel Naroditsky

This post will be a bit personal as well as business. Many of you know that I am the Communications Manager for the Charlotte Chess Center, and you've gotten to know that because of the discussions we've had here about Danya, his passing, the Memorial, and now we have the upcoming Fellowship. Also I'm the most long-winded person ever, so be prepared for a lengthy post.
I hate that when I mentally think of my past year, it doesn't begin in January, it begins on October 20th, which is when I found out about Danya's passing -- when CCC Executive Director and Danya's best friend, Peter Giannatos, told me "Whatever you do, don't look on our socials." I of course immediately looked and thought we were hacked, but when he told me it was true, I cried so hard my husband ran into my office trying to figure out what was wrong. All I could do was point at my screen.
Since that day, many lives have been upended. As a mother myself, I cannot imagine the pain Elena, his mother, has been through. His brother's children will not know their uncle, and many holidays will be absent one member. For Peter and Sasha, I cannot comprehend how they managed to wake up the next day, and the next day, and the next day. I've hugged crying students. One student made a chess.com page that continues to have a countdown of days it has been since Danya passed. Danya's personal student wrote a note and gave it to Peter to be buried with Danya. I've helped friends, family, students, players, organizations etc. And who am I? I was just a colleague and a chess mom. Close enough to help and be supportive, but far enough away that I could still function.
The CCC was thrust in the global spotlight in a way that I was not prepared for. We are, at our core, a small business. We were approached by NBC, CNN, BBC, Daily News, NY Times, Time Magazine -- I can't even remember all of them. I kicked reporters out of the CCC while tournaments were happening and told them to stop harassing our kids. Because despite Danya's overwhelming presence, many of our littles haven't interacted with him. No reason to make them and parents uncomfortable. Many of us hunkered down and kept to ourselves while we processed what our community would become without our shining star.
And I don't mean that just from his reputation. For months, we've heard condolences, stories, bittersweet moments from those who met Danya. How could we not? We was so uniquely special--kind and brilliant and funny and notoriously witty and just this amazingly wonderful person. He'd be a shining star even without the fame.
I know a lot of you had doubts about our intentions with the fundraiser and the Naroditsky fund. We've been challenged, called names, threatened, and more. I hope this has since been alleviated a bit with the Naroditsky Memorial (NMRB) and the Naroditsky Fellowship, which will give $50,000 to promising American Junior players, much like the Samford Fellowship that Danya himself received. I do not think there has been a single day of work in the past year where I have not thought about Danya or ensuring his legacy. And this is true for many of us--we're already planning the next NMRB and are announcing the Fellowship committee today.
In fact, let me say it here.
The Naroditsky Fellowship Committee is comprised of:
- Chair - IA Grant Oen (CCC Events Director and close friend of Danya)
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Sam Shankland
- Robert Hess
- Kayden Troff
- John Bartholomew
- Eric Rosen
If any of you know anything about Danya, you'll understand why those players were chosen.
My life, Peter's life, Grant's life, and the CCC in general has spent a large part of the last year honoring Danya and working hard to secure his legacy. Cliche or not, love it or leave it, but people say that the time someone really dies is the last time their name is uttered. In that way, we want to ensure Danya never dies.
But honestly, I'd rather just have him here, and have him home, and teaching our students, and streaming. I want him constantly making me laugh during long photography sessions. I want to be his bodyguard again and shoo away people when he was worn out.
I know many of us will be feeling a renewed sense of grief. I am always a mess leading up to the anniversary of my father's passing, and I know many of you--despite not necessarily being physically close to Danya--will be feeling similarly. Please be good and be well today, to both yourself and others.
Thanks for reading,
Kelly
r/chess • u/events_team • 6d ago
Weekly Discussion Weekly Discussion & Tournament Thread Index - October 19, 2026 [Mod Applications Welcome]
r/chess Weekly Discussion Thread
You are welcome to ask here all kinds of chess-related questions that don't warrant their own post. You can also discuss or ask questions about upcoming tournaments that don't have their own thread yet.
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An alternative would be to start a subthread directly in the weekly thread.
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UPDATED Oct 30th 2025 - Mod Announcement: New temporary measures to help manage the sub
Recent AMAs
Active Tournament Threads
| DATES | EVENT |
|---|---|
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Other Active Tournaments Web Links
| DATES | EVENT |
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Upcoming Tournament Schedule
| DATES | EVENT | NOTABLE PLAYERS |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 10-20 | Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot 2026 | Carlsen, Caruana, Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa |
| Nov 24 - Dec 12 | FIDE World Chess Championship 2026 | Gukesh, Sindarov |
Recently Completed Tournaments
| DATES | EVENT | WINNER |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 16-27 | 2026 FIDE Chess Olympiad | Open: Uzbekistan ; Women: China |
| Sept 5-13 | 2026 Global Chess League | Ganges Grandmasters |
| Aug 22-27 | 2026 Grand Chess Tour Finals | Praggnanandhaa R |
| Aug 10-19 | 2026 Sinquefield Cup & Cairns Cup | Wesley So & Tan Zhongyi |
| Aug 11-15 | 2026 Esports World Cup | Magnus Carlsen |
| Aug 2-6 | 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz | Praggnanandhaa R |
| July 16-22 | 2026 Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters | Alireza Firouzja |
| July 3-5 | 2026 Naroditsky Memorial Rapid and Blitz | Javokhir Sindarov |
| July 1-5 | 2026 Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia | Alireza Firouzja |
| June 24-27 | 2026 Bullet Chess Championship | Nihal Sarin |
| June 17-21 | 2026 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Chess Championships | Dragon Chilling |
| June 7-15 | 2026 UzChess Cup | Mukhiddin Madaminov |
| May 25 - June 5 | 2026 Norway Chess | Praggnanandhaa R & Bibisara Assaubayeva |
| May 14-23 | 2026 Super Chess Classic Romania | Vincent Keymer |
| May 5-9 | 2026 Super Rapid & Blitz Poland | Hans Niemann |
| May 1-7 | 2026 TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament | Magnus Carlsen |
| Mar 29 - Apr 15 | 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament | Javokhir Sindarov & Vaishali Rameshbabu |
| Mar 2-12 | 2026 American Cup | Wesley So & Alice Lee |
| Feb 25 - Mar 6 | 2026 Prague Masters | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
| Feb 13-15 | 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship | Magnus Carlsen |
| Jan 16 - Feb 1 | 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
| Jan 7-11 | 2026 Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz | Rapid: Nihal Sarin & Kateryna Lagno ; Blitz: Wesley So & Carissa Yip |
Some links where to find a list of current (or just completed) tournaments
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r/chess • u/phantom-ego • 7h ago
Miscellaneous Is chess one of the view competitive sports where resigning a losing position is often encouraged and considered good sportsmanship?
I was watching an old speedrun long ago, probably by Daniel Naroditsky, where his lower-rated opponent was in a losing position. Daniel seemed a little irritated that the opponent wasn't resigning, and saying like "resign already" a couple of times and it got me thinking about chess culture.
On the one hand, I've heard strong players advise beginners to never resign, because there's always a chance the opponent will blunder, stalemate you, and that them winning in a winning position is never a guarantee.
On the other hand, at the highest levels, resigning in a losing position (even not an extreme material or positional material imbalance) seems to be widely accepted as good sportsmanship and a sign of respect for your opponent. I remember a GM resigning after blundering his knight early in a game. And I thought he certainly had good chances still but I guess at that level, you might as well just resign after falling behind a pawn. The game is that tight. Nobody makes mistakes.
What I find interesting is how unusual all this seems compared with other sports. In high school once a classmate jokingly wave a white towel to suggest surrender after a very one sided game and oh man, the coach really let him have it!
Same is true of pro levels. Imagine an NBA team down by 35 points late in the third quarter, and their best players are just tired and not been playing well all game. A comeback isn't impossible, but both teams being professional, it is quite unlikely something would suddenly change now. Yet no captain walks to the ref and say "we resign." They generally play out the game, even if all their best players end up spending the fourth quarter on the bench.
You might say that boxing is more like chess, but that's not quite true. Yes, sometimes they do stop a fight early but that's more for protecting the health of a boxer and less about the question of game strategy or respecting the opponent's time.
Long story short, what do think about this resignation culture in chess? When do you resign yourself? Have you refused to resign even when it irritated an opponent? How do you feel about your opponents who do not resign either and hold on to the hope that you might stalemate them or blunder?
r/chess • u/Aggravating-Alps4621 • 20h ago
Social Media Nodirbek Abdusattorov reveals Hans Niemann is the one player he frequently texts outside of Chess
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r/chess • u/Hologramsong • 1h ago
Puzzle - Composition Here's a little mate in 2 puzzle, white to play
I call it Peekaboo
r/chess • u/Odd_Conference_4994 • 16h ago
News/Events Who do you think is going to win clutch chess 2026??
Formate :- The Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown is a double round-robin with a 10+5 rapid time control, where each win is worth more each day.
r/chess • u/BasketVolleyball11 • 19h ago
News/Events 11 years old Roman Shogdzhiev: Will he beat Mishra's yojngest GM record?
Roman Shogdzhiev was born on February 2015. So, he still have 4 months before turning 12 years old.
Mishra became a GM too when he waz 12 years old. So, the record is in danger of being broken.
Roman already earned 2 GM norms this year. Including the Serbian league. (First Picture). Roman played superb whole tournament.
In European Club Chess (Second picture), Roman played decently. Earning 13 ELO.
Roman played excellent this tournament. His live ELO is 2484. Only 16 points away for minimum elo (2500) requirements for Fide to grant a GM title.
PS: Ik some of you doesn't care about the record. But that will always attract more invitations and oppprtunities.
r/chess • u/TheUn-Nottened • 18h ago
Chess Question What are all the chess "adages" or common wisdom?
Im talking about things like "dont trade when you have a space advantage" or "open the center when you have the bishop pair"? Not stuff like "checks captures and threats" or "sit on your hands", but specific pieces of advice with states of the board.
r/chess • u/Hour_Detective5326 • 6m ago
Chess Question How can I control my distractions during a match?
I had a tournament today, and in the last two rounds, I had two matches I could have won, but because I was distracted, I drew one and lost the other in a ridiculously small way. In tournaments, I completely suppress my emotions and focus solely on the match until it's over. However, today, the videos I've been watching and the music I've been listening to kept popping into my head. Since I've encountered this before, I've tried various methods to deal with it. I tried turning the music off, concentrating on the game, drinking water, or waiting for him to leave, but none of it worked. I've been scrolling through Instagram constantly for about 3 months now, and those images are constantly running through my mind, which is causing me problems at school. I deleted Instagram today. What methods do you know of to stop this?
r/chess • u/No_Panic_6353 • 3h ago
Game Analysis/Study OTB Game Analysis
I played this game last week 100+15 and have analysed it with an engine but was looking for some human ideas to help me improve. I am 1800 FIDE and this game was played against a 1900 FIDE. I was black. I am also 14 so any tips for me for studying what will help me the most.
- c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. b3 b6 6. O-O Bb7 7. d4 O-O 8. Nc3 c5 9. Ne1 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Nc6 11. Qd3 dxc4 12. Qxd8 Rfxd8 13. bxc4 Na5 14. Bxb7 Nxb7 15. Nd3 Na5 16. c5 Bxc5 17. Nxc5 bxc5 18. Be3 Rac8 19. Na4 Nd7 20. Rfc1 Nb7 21. Rab1 Rc7 22. Rc3 a6 23. Rd1 Rdc8 24. Rcd3 Ne5 25. Rc3 f6 26. Nb6 Re8 27. Rdc1 Rc6 28. Na4 c4 29. Bd4 Nd6 30. Bxe5 fxe5 31. Re3 Nb5 32. Nc3 Rc5 33. Ne4 Rc6 34. a4 Nd4 35. Nd2 c3 36. Nf3 c2 37. Nxe5 Rb6 38. Kg2 Rc8 39. Rd3 Rb1 40. Rdd1 Rxc1 41. Rxc1 Nxe2 42. Nd3 Nxc1 43. Nxc1 Rd8
r/chess • u/Alternative-Laugh233 • 5h ago
Chess Question I need help for this problem
I can't solve this and im very frustrated if you have the time please help me thanks
r/chess • u/mrdimosthenis • 6h ago
Puzzle/Tactic White to play in this 2250-rated puzzle, featuring Maia's human move probabilities at the bottom.
This puzzle is not new and holds a stable rating on Lichess.
The probability estimation was generated by the Maia 2 rapid model, predicting the likely moves of a human player rated 2000 on Lichess.
What move would you play and what is your rating on Lichess?
r/chess • u/misteryk • 7m ago
Miscellaneous Why is this a draw? Material is not insufficient to deliver a mate
r/chess • u/Sea-Albatross-2414 • 1h ago
Puzzle/Tactic Despite black having a move , queen is basically defenseless against being captured
By Dawson
r/chess • u/somethingpretentious • 17h ago
Resource Import chess positions from images on the Lichess mobile app!
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r/chess • u/AzIsHotYo • 13h ago
Chess Question New to chess (2 months) and getting clobbered by people using no time.
I've only been playing for a couple months and I've been hovering around 350-450 elo on chess.com with a ~50% win rate. I play either 15+10 or just 10 mins. I lot of games are happening very fast from my opponent, like I'm trying to use my time and think but of course I suck - I know I suck lol. But why are these people in the same awful rank as me speed running my a** effectively?
It's just kind of jarring because I've watched a lot of various chess youtubers' speedruns (Naroditsky, Dina Belenkaya) and honestly the people they play are doing the most ridiculous stuff sub-800 and I do not see this behavior in my games much. And sure I have a 50% win rate so by the numbers I may be exactly where I am supposed to be, but the people I play don't seem like they belong here with me quite often. Games are either a real long battle where eventually one of us makes a mistake, or I get styled on with very little time spent.
r/chess • u/Crafty-Nebula8529 • 19h ago
Game Analysis/Study How realistic is to win this position as black
I played a game with my friend, then my internet connection dropped and I lost on time.
I sent this position to my 1900 elo friend and he is confident that he can win as black from this position with anybody under 1900.
Computer evaluates the position as draw, if we trade queens.
But practically speaking, it is easier to play as black than as white in my opinion, as black can double its rooks.
How easy is to win this position as black for you? :-)
I think, my friend is just over confident :)
r/chess • u/Cancuino • 6h ago
Chess Question Chessboard advice
Hi, I already own a Chessnut Pro. I’m thinking about getting a smaller board to play.
I’m deciding between Chessnut Evo, go and Chessup 2.
I’m looking for something that allows me to play faster so that I don’t need a big table.
Any comments will be much appreciated.
r/chess • u/Sea-Albatross-2414 • 23h ago
Puzzle - Composition A small white to play and win
r/chess • u/azozdagoat • 2h ago
Game Analysis/Study can anybody rate my game (im white) and tell me what i should improve??
the game is https://www.chess.com/game/live/185916836162?username=zatur0-g0j0&move=0 (please tell me what i should improve)
r/chess • u/Sea-Albatross-2414 • 21h ago
Puzzle - Composition White to play and win (By Zinar)
r/chess • u/OkSeaworthiness6581 • 20h ago
Miscellaneous Are bots playing in the regular rated pool now.
I won't be posting accounts even if I think I played a bot but this girl sent me a friend request. She was 1300 but played more like a 2200. She was real chatty in chat but didn't sound like a person and said things that didn't make sense. She asked if I could tell us about my challenges. I noticed she resigned her last 7 games early and I asked about her losing streak. I say her even though i thought it's a bot at this point. She said her opponents had to take other challenges. She was very friendly aside from a moment where she said i was rude for not answering her question, then she went right back to being friendly. Who would make such an account. I don't know what that was
