Daniel Naroditsky Named New York Times Chess Columnist

Over the weekend, GM Daniel “Danya” Naroditsky was unveiled as the chess columnist for the New York Times. In this role, the grandmaster will provide daily interactive puzzles derived from historic games, with anecdotes and thorough move-by-move instructional content.

The New York Times Chess Column began in 1962 under the authorship of IM Al Horowitz and contained anecdotes and analyses of decisive games of the time. The duty was passed to GM Robert Byrne in 1972, who authored the column until 2006. The mantle was then carried by Dylan Loeb McClain for a mere eight years until the Times shuttered the column completely in 2014.

Perhaps riding the wave of the COVID-era “chess boom” the Times has reintroduced the column as a puzzle feature with Naroditsky at the helm, placing it alongside its legendary crossword, popular Spelling Bee game, and the newly acquired Wordle.

Online, Naroditsky has made a name for himself creating public educational content through his Twitch and YouTube channels including instructional lessons, and live play through the popular "speedrun" series (now in its fourth iteration), in which he climbs the rating ladder under a pseudonym on Chess.com, offering explanations and analysis of his decision-making process.

Offline, Danya recently settled in as the grandmaster-in-residence at the Charlotte Chess Center, in Charlotte, NC, participating in events and providing coaching to their scholastic teams and club members. He was also a contributor to Chess Life, penning the Endgame column from June 2014 until March 2020.

See GM Naroditsky’s first New York Times puzzle here.