Cause of Death Revealed for 29-Year-Old Chess Grandmaster

A cause of death has been revealed for chess grandmaster and YouTuber Daniel Naroditsky after he died suddenly at 29 in October. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the news to People on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Daniel Naroditsky's Cause of Death Revealed

Naroditsky’s death was announced on Oct. 20 by his club, the Charlotte Chess Center. Days later, the outlet obtained an incident report from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department which stated that Naroditsky’s passing was being “investigated as a potential suicide or drug overdose.”

In its findings released earlier this week, the medical examiner’s office determined that the former champion died of “accidental poisoning after ingesting a drug cocktail." In the hours prior to his death, Naroditsky ingested an inevitably fatal cocktail of methamphetamine and amphetamine. Also found in his system were small amounts of 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine, both of which are known to be active ingredients in kratom. Kratom can create stimulant effects in small doses, and sedative effects in higher doses. Naroditsky’s official cause of death was ruled to be "accidental poisoning after ingesting a drug cocktail."

Naroditsky Was Mourned By His Peers

Police were summoned to Naroditsky’s Charlotte home at about 7:11 p.m. local time on Oct. 19. "Upon arrival, an unresponsive subject was located and later pronounced deceased by medic," read the incident report. Charlotte Chess Center announced his death the following day. “The Naroditsky family shares the sad news of Daniel’s unexpected passing,” the statement read. "Daniel was a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community. We ask for privacy as the family grieves."

Naroditsky grew up in the Bay Area and rose to prominence as an adolescent. In 2007, at the age of 11, he won the Under 12 section of the World Youth Chess Championship. He released a book, Mastering Positional Chess, in 2010. In 2014, he was awarded the Samford Chess Fellowship, one of the most prestigious accolades for young American chess players. In the years before his death, Naroditsky continued to compete within the U.S. Championships for chess. He was consistently ranked among the top 200 players in the world.

Naroditsky Denied Allegations of Cheating

Naroditsky’s death came after Russian chess grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik, who was the world champion from 2000 to 2006, accused the 29-year-old of cheating. Naroditsky vehemently denied the allegations in a video to his nearly 500,000 followers. The controversy resulted, shortly after Naroditsky’s sudden death, in a Change.org petition pushing for the removal of Kramnik’s title.

“There was nothing more important to Daniel than his dignity and his name as a chess player. And the ex-world champion was trying to say he’s a cheater,” Naroditsky’s mother, Elena, told The Daily Mail. “Daniel tried to defend himself so much. The whole world was on Daniel’s side. He played more and more because he was trying to prove that he’s not what he was accused of.”