Naroditsky Memorial Blitz and Rapid Promises to Honor Danya's Legacy and Vision

It has been almost six months since news of GM Daniel Naroditsky’s death at age 29 shocked and saddened the chess world. As FM Mike Klein wrote in his obituary for Chess Life, Naroditsky will “be remembered for his preternatural ability to inspire everyone, from the casual fan to the tournament player,” and for teaching us “that you can build community locally and globally.”

The cover of the December 2025 issue of Chess Life Magazine.

For Naroditsky, that local community was centered in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he moved after graduating from Stanford University in 2019. He became the Charlotte Chess Center (CCC)’s first grandmaster-in-residence, helping to build the club’s reputation and prestige to the point where it is today.

Elite Camp 2024 — Naroditsky with fellow instructors GMs RB Ramesh, Vesselin Topalov, and Judit Polgar, and with Giannatos (R). (Photos courtesy CCC/Kelly Centrelli)

To honor Naroditsky’s legacy, CCC and Naroditsky’s family worked together to form the Charlotte Chess Center Foundation (CCCF) to create “pathways for growth, connection, and excellence in chess, all while honoring the legacy of Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky.” The CCCF organized a fundraising campaign for its Naroditsky Memorial Fund, promising to establish two major initiatives: an annual over-the-board blitz and rapid tournament, and a scholarship program supporting talented young chess players.

On March 4, sponsoring partner Chess.com announced news of the first Naroditsky Memorial Blitz and Rapid (NMBR), to be held in Charlotte this July 3 through 5. CCC announced that registration was open on March 23.

Graphic courtesy of CCC

Anybody who knew Naroditsky, or “Danya” as he was called by fans and friends alike, understood his love for faster time controls. Whether it was “speed runs” on his YouTube channel, or his 3,001 blitz and bullet games against GM Hikaru Nakamura on Chess.com, he possessed a unique ability to impress even GM Magnus Carlsen with original, deep, and creative ideas at blisteringly fast speeds.

Appreciating the beauty, accessibility, and just plain fun of faster time controls, Danya spoke regularly about his desire to for organizers to put together more over-the-board blitz and rapid events at both amateur and professional levels.

Naroditsky in Orlando with CCC for SuperNationals VIII. (Photo by David Llada)

The NMBR is CCC and CCCF’s attempt to bring this wish to life. The tournament features a Masters Section stocked with elite American players like Nakamura, GM Hans Niemann, and GM Wesley So; foreign talent including rising Uzbek star GM Javokhir Sindarov and noted speedster GM Nihal Sarin, and dear friends like GM Oleksandr Bortnyk.

Some of the top players already confirmed for the Masters Section. (Graphic courtesy CCC)

Already, 73 players are registered for this section, which has a rating minimum of 2200 US Chess or FIDE. Alongside the Masters is a Challengers section open to chess players of all levels, where 86 players are currently registered. This year’s event has a limited player capacity of 300, and is over halfway full three months out.

A renowned commentator, streamer, and content creator, Naroditsky’s legacy is also honored by the event’s innovative Creator Invitational. After Friday’s rapid tournament and Saturday’s blitz, Sunday pits 10 world-class creators in an all-play-all nine-round tournament.

The list of competitors include Chess.com’s CCO IM Danny Rensch, renowned streamer and author IM Levy Rozman (a.k.a “GothamChess”), WFM Alex Botez and her sister Andrea Botez, and ChessBase India’s IM Sagar Shah.

The full line-up of the Creators Invitational. (Graphic courtesy CCC)

The weekend will be capped off by the Blitz Final later on Sunday. The top 10 players from the Masters Section’s blitz event will face off in front of their fellow competitors and also fans who purchased standard or VIP spectator passes.

The choice to feature the top 10 players in the Blitz Final is another touching tribute to Danya. In the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship, Naroditsky was one of 10 players to tie for first in the qualifier Swiss tournament. But only the top eight participants qualified for the knockout stage, and Naroditsky missed out on tiebreaks. Nobody could have known this was going to be Naroditsky’s last time on that stage. Ensuring ten finalists, rather than eight, is a touching nod.

Events of this scale and caliber are not normally organized with less than a year of preparation. But the chess community has come together to support CCCF’s mission and vision, putting together a great event with some of the biggest names in all aspects of chess. This well-rounded tribute to one of the chess world’s most well-rounded individuals will surely be a fixture on the annual chess calendar, and for both Naroditsky’s local Charlotte community and his global following.