From the CEO
I was working on a video when I got to know about the shocking news of the demise of Daniel Naroditsky. It came out of the blue. Absolutely no one could have ever imagined that something like this could have happened. I was in the US at the home of GM Magesh Panchanathan and WFM Anuprita Patil in North Carolina. We sat there absolutely shocked. I had first seen Danya in 2016 when we were playing in the same tournament in Porticcio, France. I also played against him in a blitz event and lost that game. I covered it in my tribute video:
Sagar's tribute to Daniel Naroditsky
In the pandemic, we streamed together. I had great regard for the work he was doing and it was very pure. Danya would never clickbait his viewers and adopted a long-term approach towards creating his legacy as a chess trainer, teacher and content creator. At the same time, he was never vocal against anyone who was adopting a method that was different from his. In fact, he accepted that method and always tried to see the positive side of it.
On 23rd of October 2025, I went to San Francisco along with Magesh to attend the funeral of Daniel. The number of people from the chess community who turned up was testament to what an important personality he was in the world of chess. We had Hikaru Nakamura with his father Sunil Weeramantry, Alireza Firouzja had travelled all the way from France with his girlfriend, Robert Hess had travelled from London with his wife, Levy Rozman was there with his wife, Alexandra Botez was there, Danny Rensch, Eric Rosen, Irene Sukandar, Benjamin Bok, Vinay Bhat, Patrick Wolff, and many others. Not to forget the amazing people from the Charlotte Chess Center who were like family to Danya.
As I sat there at the funeral, I opened my phone and went through my WhatsApp chat with Daniel. The first ever message he wrote to me when I had asked him about appearing on Grandmaster chess was: “Love the work that you're doing and I've referred so many students to your videos. I would be honored to do this collab!”
Wow! Such warm words. I remember feeling so good reading it back then in 2022. He was a strong grandmaster. One of the best in the world when it came to bullet and blitz. And here he was taking out the time to tell me how much he liked the work we were doing. One of his later messages read, “I love coming on CB India and I think you are just fantastic in every way.”
When Daniel passed away, Douglas Griffin, a chess historian, shared a message that Danya had written to him, “Hi Douglas, I just wanted to say that I am a huge fan of your Twitter Page and Blog. As a massive (chess) history nerd, the photos are second to none and the text and descriptions are artful and eloquent. I have spent countless hours perusing the posts. As we Americans like to say, You are the Man!” Douglas wrote on Twitter, “In February 2022, Daniel Naroditsky sent me a message to say that he appreciated my blog & my posts on Twitter. I was really touched then that he, already a famous figure in chess broadcasting, should take a moment to encourage an ordinary guy like me, and I still am.”
When I was about to leave the funeral, I went to give my condolences to Danya’s girlfriend. I told her my name and immediately her face lit up. “Danya always used to say nice things about you and he loved the work you are doing!” I was stunned. What a man Danya was. She continued, “Danya loved deeply and had immense love in his life.” I left the funeral with a heavy heart but at the same time I made a promise to myself. Whenever someone did something good and I saw it, I would take out the time and write to that person with great care, just like how Danya did.
While many would remember Danya as a great teacher, many would remember him as a great player, many would remember him as a speed demon, I will remember him as a kind soul who touched lives of people in a very gentle and honest manner. Rest in Peace Danya, you will be missed. - Sagar Shah
HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
The gentle genius of chess: Daniel Naroditsky (9.11.1995 - 19.10.2025)
It’s been a week since the chess world lost one of its brightest lights. The news of GM Daniel Naroditsky’s passing was shared on 20th October 2025 by Charlotte Chess Center, leaving everyone in deep shock and sorrow. Some knew him as a commentator, some as a player, some as a teacher, but to everyone, he was an inspiration. His detailed insights mixed with humour drew players in from all corners of the world. Daniel was loved by millions! Despite his immense talent, he always stayed humble, curious, and eager to learn from anyone! This article is a tribute to this great soul! Photo: Charlotte Chess Center
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
LEARN TO ATTACK WITH GUKESH!
D Gukesh is the World Chess Champion right now. Gukesh became the World Champion by defeating Ding Liren in the 2024 World Chess Championship! Just a year before that, in April 2023, Gukesh visited the ChessBase India studio in Mumbai and recorded a Video course with us - called "Attack like a Super Grandmaster".
While Gukesh is a universal player, there are three qualities of his play that stand out - Attack, Calculation, and Imagination. In this Video course: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all these aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player. Gukesh explains his games in great depth, and questions are asked at the appropriate moment to help you understand the intricacies of the position. At the end of the course, you will find test positions that help you to reinforce the knowledge that you have gained by watching the videos. These test positions include Gukesh's wins over Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. IM Sagar Shah sits together with Gukesh and asks him relevant questions that will help you gain a lot of critical insights!
Today, we have a special offer on Attack like a Super GM - use the coupon code "DGUKESH10" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 4th November 2025 - hurry up and get it now!
LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
Clutch Chess 2025 R1-3: World Champion Gukesh makes a great start, beats Caruana twice
The World Champion continues his momentum from 40th European Chess Club Cup 2025 double Gold triumph. Straight from Rhodes, Greece, he travelled to Saint Louis, Missouri in USA for Clutch Chess Champions Showdown 2025. He played a great game against the World no.1, Magnus Carlsen. However, he could not find the perfect defence in an extremely complex position with only 14 seconds left on the clock. He resigned like a gentleman instead of letting his clock run out. In the second game, Gukesh drew against Carlsen. Then he defeated Hikaru Nakamura in Round 2 with a great display of his positional understanding. Their second game was an uneventful draw. In the third round, Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana in both games to grab an early lead 4/6. Carlsen is breathing down his neck at 3.5/6, followed by Nakamura 3/6 and Caruana 1.5/6. Three more rounds, six games will be played today starting from 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy
SuperChess clinches 40th European Club Cup with a perfect score, Alkaloid second and Novy Bor third
SuperChess won 40th European Club Cup 2025 Open with a perfect score 14/14. Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub lost to the eventual winner by 2.5-3.5. Alkaloid defeated Rishon Le Zion #1 by 4.5-2.5 to finish second for the second consecutive year. The defending champion, Novy Bor won against Vugar Gashimov by 1.5-4.5 to finish third. Cercle d'échecs de Monte-Carlo won 29th European Club Cup Women by splitting the point with Turkish Airlines sports club. They scored 13/14. Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica lost to SuperChess 1.5-2.5, still they secured second place. The reigning champion, Tajfun SK Ljubljana drew against CE Gambit Bonnevoie to finish third. World Champion - GM D Gukesh, GM Nihal Sarin, GM Abhimanyu Puranik and FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 winner - GM Divya Deshmukh won individual Gold on their respective boards. GM Aravindh Chithambaram won individual Bronze on his board. Photo: European Chess Union
Pranav Venkatesh dominates 8th Salamanca Chess Festival 2025 Cradle of Modern Chess
The reigning World Junior 2025 champion, GM Pranav Venkatesh won 8th Salamanca Chess Festival 2025 with a round to spare. Former World Champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) was the only one who had chances of stopping his momentum. However, in their rematch, he could not seize his advantage, allowing Pranav once again to get the upper hand and win the game. Pranav won the next two games to become the champion 9.5/10, finishing a whopping 1.5 points ahead of the runner-up, Ponomariov. WGM Nadya Toncheva (BUL) scored an impressive 5/10 to finish third. Pranav had an eight-game winning streak at this event. Photo: Universidad de Salamanca. Comunicación Alumni - USAL
Kishan Gangolli wins Gold at 2nd FIDE Olympiad for People with Disabilities 2025
Kishan Gangolli scored an unbeaten 5/6 to win an individual Gold medal on Board no.3 at 2nd FIDE Olympiad for People with Disabilities 2025. In the previous edition in 2023, Kishan won Silver on the same board with the exact same board. This time also he remained undefeated. It was the sole medal for India. Team FIDE 1 became overall champion, scoring an unbeaten 11/12. The defending champion, Poland secured Silver. They scored sole 10/12 and also remained unbeaten. Israel, IBCA and Philippines scored 9/12 each. They were placed third, fourth and fifth respectively. Team India finished twelfth, one above their starting rank. Photo: FIDE
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