Chess grandmaster died from accidental overdose

Daniel Naroditsky, a prominent American chess grandmaster and online streamer, died from an accidental drug overdose caused by an abnormal heartbeat, according to a toxicology report released Tuesday by the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office. He was found dead at his home in North Carolina in October at the age of 29.

According to a report by Associated Press, the report stated that Naroditsky had multiple drugs in his system at the time of his death. Toxicology results showed he tested positive for methamphetamine and kratom, an opioid-related substance increasingly found in energy drinks, gummies and dietary supplements.

Naroditsky was last known to be alive on October 18, when he accepted a food delivery. He was discovered dead the following day after he missed a scheduled flight, the report said. Friends became concerned after noticing unusual behaviour in his online activity and visited his home two days before his death, where they removed 40 pills of the stimulant Adderall. Investigators later found bags of kratom inside the residence, according to the medical examiner’s report, as reported by Associated Press.

A child prodigy, Naroditsky earned the title of grandmaster, the highest rank in chess apart from world champion, at the age of 18. He was widely credited by fellow grandmasters with expanding the game’s reach through livestreaming, regularly broadcasting his matches and providing live commentary. Thousands of viewers followed his games on YouTube and the interactive streaming platform Twitch.

The popularity of high-speed competitive online chess surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the growing digital community was also marked by frequent cheating allegations, as players gained access to advanced computer programs capable of providing unfair assistance.

Naroditsky was accused of cheating by former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, allegations he denied and which were never proven. In his final livestream before his death, Naroditsky spoke about the emotional impact of the accusations.

“Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions. The issue is just the lingering effect of it,” Naroditsky said, according to the Associated Press.

In November, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) filed a formal complaint against Kramnik, accusing him of harassment and insulting the dignity of fellow players. Kramnik, who described the federation’s investigation as “insulting and unfair,” later filed a defamation lawsuit against the organisation, Associated Press has reported.

According to a report by Associated Press, in a post on Tuesday on the social media platform X, Kramnik described Naroditsky’s death as “an immense tragedy” and said that in the aftermath, “a cynical smear campaign was launched, unjustly linking me, without any factual basis, to Daniel’s untimely death”.

He added that the situation escalated into threats against his family. Kramnik said this was followed by “multiple direct murder threats directed at me, my wife and my children, which compelled me to pursue legal action.”

Kramnik also said he had attempted to intervene shortly before Naroditsky’s death. “After viewing portions of his last stream and despite our existing tensions, I publicly urged Daniel’s friends, on what tragically turned out to be the morning of his death, to look after and seek urgent help for him,” Kramnik added. “Regrettably, those efforts were in vain,” as quoted by Associated Press.