Chess grandmaster and San Mateo native dies at 29

“Let us remember Daniel for his passion and love for the game of chess, and for the joy and inspiration he brought to us all every day,” his family said in a statement shared by the center.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Naroditsky was born in San Mateo but lived in Foster City. He attended Crystal Springs Uplands School. He began playing chess at 6 1/2 years old against his father, Vladimir, and his older brother, Alan.

One year later, Naroditsky won his first tournament in Burlingame. That’s when Naroditsky knew he was pretty good in a 2007 Daily Journal feature.

At age 12, Naroditsky was the number one rated player in the United States in his age category and a member of the All-America Chess Team — which was created in 1987 to honor the best chess players ages 18 and younger. He won the Under 12 world championship and spent his teenage years writing chess strategy books as he climbed the world rankings.

Naroditsky became a grandmaster, the highest title in chess aside from World Chess Champion, at the age of 18.

He was consistently ranked in the top 200 worldwide for traditional chess and also excelled at a fast-paced style called blitz chess, maintaining a top 25 ranking throughout his adult career. Most recently Naroditsky, known to many as Danya, won the U.S. National Blitz Championship in August.

Fellow grandmasters credited Naroditsky with introducing the sport to a wider audience by livestreaming many of his matches and sharing live commentary on others. Thousands of people regularly tuned in on YouTube and the interactive streaming platform Twitch to watch Naroditsky play.

“He loved streaming, and he loved trying to be educational. The chess world is very grateful,” Hikaru Nakamura, an American grandmaster, said on a livestream Monday.