Death of chess champ Daniel Naroditsky investigated as possible suicide or overdose, police say

The death of American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky may have been the result of a drug overdose and is being investigated as a possible suicide, according to a police report released Thursday.

The revelation came as some of the world’s best chess players gathered in the San Francisco Bay Area to bid farewell to the 29-year-old grandmaster, who was found unconscious earlier this week at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina.

His older brother, Alan Naroditsky, said in a statement that “his death is a huge loss for all of us.”

“To the world, Daniel is the chess grandmaster, passionate commentator and gifted educator we know and love,” it reads. “To me he represents all these things, but he will always be Danya, my little brother.”

The elder Naroditsky said that as children, they were “inseparable” and shared a passion for the Golden State Warriors basketball team, as well as “puns and our vast repertoire of inside jokes.”

“He was my best friend and one of the best human beings I have ever known,” his statement read.

Naroditsky’s death outraged his supporters in the chess world, who said he was accused of cheating during matches and relentlessly bullied by Vladimir Kramnik, a former world chess champion whom he once idolized and who accused many other players of cheating in the online game.

The detailed report released by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says Naroditsky was found dead Sunday evening and describes the focus of the investigation as a “death/suicide/overdose/sudden/natural death investigation.”

“On Sunday, October 19 at approximately 7:11 p.m., officers responded to a call for medical assistance in the area of ​​9000 Colin Crossing,” the report states. “Upon arrival, an unresponsive subject was located and was later pronounced deceased by a physician.”

Naroditsky’s funeral came a day after the World Chess Federation (FIDE) announced it would investigate whether Kramnik should be sanctioned for derogatory public statements he made “before and after the tragic death” of Naroditsky.

“Depending on the circumstances and findings, there is a wide range of possible sanctions, from financial penalties to banning,” a spokesperson said in an email to NBC News on Thursday. “The decision rests entirely with the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, which is independent of the President and the Board of Directors of FIDE.”

Kramnik, 50, in email exchanges with NBC News, insisted that he had been “subject to a public relations campaign of intimidation and defamation” as well as constant threats against him and his family.

There was no immediate response from Kramnik when NBC contacted him about the latest developments.

In an article published Thursday on X, Kramnik wrote that he had “contacted the Charlotte Police Department and asked them to investigate Daniel’s death, providing them with additional information.”

Naroditsky, a child prodigy who became one of the sport’s most influential American voices, was found unconscious on a couch earlier this week by his friends, grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk and Peter Giannatos, founder of the Charlotte Chess Center.

“I found him dead in his house,” an emotional Bortnyk said in an online video this week. “I came to check on him with Peter, the director of the Charlotte Center, and our mutual friend. We got together to check on him because he wasn’t responding. And we found him dead on the couch.”

Bortnyk said she spoke to her friend “Danya” a few days before her death. He said Naroditsky was “very sad about this situation with Kramnik.”

“He never cheated in his life,” Bortnyk said of his friend. “Never.”

The Charlotte Chess Center in North Carolina, where Naroditsky trained and worked as a coach, announced his death on social media Monday and called him a “talented chess player, educator and beloved member of the chess community.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis lifeline. You can also call the network, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.