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Friend of Daniel Naroditsky found late chess grandmaster not responding during a welfare check, 911 audio reveals
911 call captures friend finding chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky unresponsive during wellness check
A 911 call obtained by PEOPLE illuminates the new aspects of the case of chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky’s death. On Oct. 20, the Charlotte Chess Center, Naroditsky’s club, announced the passing of the 29‑year‑old and shared the family statement on X. A representative for the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office, however, confirmed Naroditsky’s death to PEOPLE.
In the recording of the incident, a friend of Naroditsky explains to the dispatcher that after expecting no news from him for about a day, he went to check on him. “I went and did a wellness check, and he’s passed out on the couch, but he’s not responsive,” the friend is telling in the audio. After the call, officers arrived at the scene for the welfare check. They have not released details about the cause of death.
A dispatcher directs the friend through the necessary emergency steps as the officers drive to the location.
A 911 call made available to PEOPLE exposes fresh facts about the demise of chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky. In the recording, Naroditsky’s friend explains to the operator that he went to check on the 29-year-old after he had not heard from him for about 24 hours: “I went and did a wellness check, and he is passed out on the couch but not responsive,” the friend tells the dispatcher.
After that in the recording, the dispatcher advises the friend to lay Naroditsky down and take off anything from his head, and the friend informs that the police have come to the scene. According to a report by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department that was provided to PEOPLE, police went to a private home in the southern suburbs of Charlotte, N.C., at about 7:11 p.m. and found Naroditsky unresponsive.
Doctor declared him dead; police considering it a sudden or natural death while investigating the case as a possible suicide or drug overdose
A 911 call that was made available to PEOPLE reveals a friend informing the dispatchers that he found grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, 29, lying unresponsive on his couch, after he had not heard from him for about 24 hours. The dispatcher advised the friend to put Naroditsky on the floor and take off anything under his head; officers came to a private residence in the Charlotte southern suburbs around 7:11 p.m. The medic who came later declared him dead.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the death is being considered as a sudden or natural one and they are investigating it as a possible suicide or drug overdose. Naroditsky’s club, the Charlotte Chess Center, made a public announcement of his passing on October 20; his family referred to him as “a dearly loved member of the chess community.”
One of the Bay Area’s best, a grandmaster, well-known author and chess commentator
Naroditsky, a local Bay Area prodigy, was introduced to chess at the age of six and he kept going up very fast — in 2007 he won the under-12 section of the World Youth Chess Championship, became the U.S. Junior Chess Champion and achieved his grandmaster norm in 2013, and from then on he has been participating regularly in the U.S. Championships. He wrote Mastering Positional Chess (2010) — which was supposedly written when he was 14 years old — and Mastering Complex Endgames (2014), and in 2022 he started writing a chess column for The New York Times.
Naroditsky’s expansive online influence and last video
Naroditsky gained an international following via his highly frequented streams on Twitch and his YouTube channel — close to 500,000 subscribers — in which he played games, gave instant commentary and taught chess strategy. In his very last YouTube video, which was uploaded on Oct. 17, he indicated that after a few weeks without posting, he would be taking a short break from producing content.
Naroditsky in his last video vowed to return — offered thanks to fans and dropped a hint about new content
Naroditsky in his Oct. 17 video acknowledged that he had taken a break from his creative work and said to the audience, “You thought I was gone forever, but little do you know, I’m actually back and better than ever… I’ve been sort of taking a kind of creative break, deciding future avenues of content.” In fact, he committed to playing more chess and interacting with the audience on the post, liking the comment “look after yourself mate, there is so much love for you out in the world!” which was supportive of him
