Kayden Troff

It has been absolute privilege to help with this. It was very obvious how much time Danya and Bortnyk spent creating it, and it is incredible. The comments I wrote for the moves will never compare to Danya's, but I hope they were good enough to honor his memory.

I don’t often ask my network for support, but today I am. Danya meant so much to our Charlotte chess community, and to the global chess world. His influence reached far beyond our city, touching players of all ages and levels around the world. If his work or his spirit ever impacted you, I hope you’ll consider contributing. givebutter.com/naroditsky #GivingTuesday

Daniel Naroditsky was more than a grandmaster, he was our colleague, a teacher, mentor, and friend whose passion and generosity shaped the Charlotte chess community and beyond. The Charlotte Chess Center is proud to carry forward his legacy: givebutter.com/naroditsky

I first met @GmNaroditsky Daniel Naroditsky, “Danya,” in 2008 on a cruise ship, of all places. He was the reigning World Under-12 Chess Champion and was on the front page of Chess Life. My mom, who can’t tell a knight from a bishop, pulled me aside after randomly passing the Naroditsky family and said, “Isn’t that the boy from your chess magazines?” and quickly ran to introduce us. Danya was probably already twice my rating despite being a couple years younger, and that may have been the last time that I was taller than him. As two introverted boys (some things never change), we let our parents do all the talking, and soon said our goodbyes. I’ve never told anyone this cruise story until now. I’d always assumed there would be a time and place to laugh about it with him. Or maybe I was too shy to admit that someone who was such a hero to me would become one of my best friends more than a decade later. Fast forward to 2015, when Jennifer Christianson had the brilliant instinct to bring Danya on as an instructor at the Castle Chess Camp, which I had attended for years. Watching Danya teach chess was something like watching Mozart in front of a piano. He was simply the most talented and passionate chess educator I’ve ever seen – generous with his time, and so damn thorough. Over the next couple years, my future boss @PeterGiannatos also started teaching at the camp, and we all became great friends (shoutout to Magesh Panchanathan too). We were all obsessed with chess, food, jokes, politics, ping pong, and staying up late. Danya taught at Castle Chess annually since 2015 until he took a break this year. He had promised me to return in 2026, and a promise from Danya is worth its weight in gold. Peter stayed in touch with Danya, always asking him whether he was going to attend grad school after Stanford or pursue chess in some way, shape, or form. To make a long story short, Danya was torn, but he eventually made the decision that we all love him for today. It was courageous of him to turn his back away from academia and the “traditional route” to which he had already devoted so many resources (and he was equally talented there as well), especially as the Charlotte Chess Center was much less of a powerhouse institution than it is today. And what a decision it was - everyone in Charlotte was so thrilled that he had chosen to move here, but no one was happier than I was. During COVID, Danya’s decision and subsequent hard work paid off in ways no one could have imagined. Not only was he a top online chess player, but his talent in teaching and speaking about chess led him to build a very successful brand with Twitch streaming, Youtube content, and Chesscom commentary. Meanwhile, he became an integral part of the Charlotte Chess core friend group during those unique lockdown days when us young professionals really needed each other socially. Danya was America’s childhood chess sweetheart, all grown up and succeeding in all walks of life - playing online blitz vs. Magnus and Hikaru by day, and watching “Billions” with his buddies and some Thai food in Virginia's apartment by night. After the pandemic, Danya’s trajectory kept climbing, as he did everything from writing a New York Times chess column to being the “go-to” commentator, along with inseparable content partner Robert Hess, on elite World Championship events. His family was proud. His friends were proud. The Charlotte Chess community was proud. He loved his life in chess and everyone around him. Through it all, the most impressive thing to me is how genuine Danya remained considering his fame. If anything, his success made him value his family, friends, and relationships even more. He was so down to earth – the most willing Grandmaster to host a party at his place or go on a coffee run for his colleagues. Though he remained an introvert throughout his life, he still loved coming to all of our homes for dinner or to the CCC to play in a Blitz tournament no matter the level of competition – 800, 1800, or 2800. When Danya would leave a party early, it would be to go play some online blitz and bullet – he loved chess more than anyone, and played virtually every day of his adult life. We all loved him for that and loved following his career. I remember walking into a movie theater when Danya had an advantage against World #3 Fabiano Caruana at the 2021 U.S. Championship, and could not put my phone down during the movie. He won that game. I also remember texting @MayaBMyers for minute-by-minute updates on Danya during the American Cup Blitz in which he had incredible results in his favorite format, over-the-board blitz. Finally, I remember calculating tiebreaks for him during the recent World Blitz Championship in New York – I informed him that he should play for a win to have a shot of qualifying to the final stage, but he secured an early draw to ensure a strong tied-for-first result to appease certain prying eyes of the chess community. Danya confided many things to me, and one that I can share is that he had concrete plans to make a return to classical chess in the next year and push towards the top 50 players in the World. He had just played the U.S. Open, and had his eyes on the 2026 Reykjavik Open and other events. For a player of his talent not to achieve his full potential had always nagged him, and to me, there was little in the way of him achieving his goals. All of these friendships, memories, and chess goals are what makes it so hard to say goodbye to you, Danya. No more fireside chats. No more blitz battles with @BortnykChess or time odds with Dominique. No more all-nighter ping pong duels. To those who have reached out with heartfelt condolences and questions about the circumstances of his passing: no one has answers for you right now. Please stop asking. Any speculation is likely far from the truth. I implore everyone to trade their curiosity in for compassion, and sincerely think of those most affected by Danya’s passing. The Naroditsky family needs privacy, and I urge everyone to honor that. I can tell you two things with absolute certainty: 1) Danya’s support group never faltered. We loved him for every moment of his life, and will continue to love and miss him forever. 2) There will be time in which we, amongst others I’m sure, take concrete steps to forever enshrine Danya’s legacy in the chess world. There will be a time and place to show your support. When that time comes, actions will speak louder than words. It is beautiful to see the countless articles, posts, and messages celebrating Danya’s life. Have you ever seen someone so universally loved by millions of people? I wish he could have understood that when he was still with us. He admired his colleagues in the professional chess world and sought the validation and respect of his fellow Grandmasters in an obsessive but endearing way. To those who seek retribution against certain members of the chess community, I personally ask you to remember that this time is about Danya Naroditsky and no one else. Over the past few days, I have found that positivity, however impossible, is what gives me solace during this time. Danya would never want such negative energy expelled on his behalf. Savor your favorite memories of him. Over the past few days, I’ve found myself asking myself the same questions repeatedly: How is it fair for such a beautiful family to endure such a painful loss? How is a young friend group supposed to heal after having a key member cruelly taken at the age of 29? How will the Charlotte Chess community ever recover from this? Why was Danya not at least able to enjoy the fruits of marriage and things outside of chess before departing? When will I wake up from this nightmare and have one more Barbecue or Mediterranean dinner with him? Of all the paths that fate could take, why this one? I’ve come to realize that I simply have no answers to these questions. Many of you will remember Danya as an eloquent commentator, passionate teacher, and formidable opponent. Of course, you’d be right about all of that. But I will remember him differently. Danya, you were an amazing friend and the best person I've ever known. I’m so sorry it ended this way. I am truly thankful that you chose to do what your heart wanted to do during your short life, and that you were able to find true love in your final years. I’ve always tried to keep emotion to a minimum. I now realize how stupid that is, and today, it is simply not possible. Today, I am simply broken. Today, I don’t know how to say thank you to you enough, Danya. Today, I hope that this goodbye will suffice. A huge part of me, of us, of chess, is gone forever. Rest in peace, Danya Naroditsky. I know you are already up there blitzing with the legends. Hope you brought your chess clock.

I was on a tv show about chocolate because I was good at chess

2025 National Open!! 🃏 #vegaschess

@FabianoCaruana Congrats again! Tough games and well deserved victory in the end!

Won the U.S. Masters in Charlotte by the skin of my teeth (and with a degree of luck!) With almost no break I'll be playing again tomorrow, another 9 games in 5 days... Not the schedule I'm accustomed to, but it was fun to experience a big open event after many years break

Dear esteemed world champion @VBkramnik , it has come to my attention that the good reputation of CCC events and our top coaches has been called into question. There seems to be speculation related to the integrity, strength, and legitimacy of the club-level events here. While these events are not world class level competitions, they are filled with underrated adult and junior players who have had little opportunities to play in FIDE level competition. Therefore, on behalf of The Farm, more commonly known as the Charlotte Chess Center, I’d like to invite you to an invitational double RR blitz tournament to be held over two days. The event will be held at the CCC and would feature yourself, our top 3 coaches, GM Naroditsky, GM Bortnyk, GM Troff, and our top 6 club players, all of whom are masters. Of course, the event will be FIDE rated. All games will be played OTB with the standard blitz time control of 3+2. I will put up $10,000 toward the prize fund to get us started and assist with crowdfunding a larger prize fund. The sky is the limit related to the prize fund. My modest investment in this, at minimum, would turn out to be a great learning experience for our coaches and top juniors. I am sure others would be interested in contributing. All the money will go to the top 3 finishers. 1st place - 50% of funds, 2nd place 30%, 3rd place 20%. I cordially hope you accept the invitation to play!

@coachqchess Congrats!

It's definitely official - I am producing an 8 episode web-series to be filmed in about a month!!!

NEW Episode of the Chess lounge with the @ChessSharkz which is comprised of GM @KaydenTroff and reality star Tony Padron just dropped. Check it out as this one is hilarious! @elaynahTV People mentioned in the episode @SimplyDevina @GMHikaru @FabianoCaruana @CLTchesscenter @Lord_Voldemort7 chesslounge.podbean.com/e/ep-7-chesssh…

MADDESS! Tony @ChessSharkz throws down saying that @CLTchesscenter is the best in America. @KaydenTroff plays it cool and defends @STLChessClub and @elaynahTV and I just laugh... NEW Episode drops tomorrow but catch up today - chesslounge.podbean.com

I'm editing the next episode of the Chess Lounge @elaynahTV with @ChessSharkz and this clip is just gold. NEW episode drops Friday where you will find out something interesting about @KaydenTroff and Tony... Catch up on the episodes and follow us at: chesslounge.podbean.com

@ChessProblem Petition for FIDE to make it an official title.

i think more top chess players should have the courage to call their opponents little bitches

@coachqchess As someone who used to play the Najdorf and gave it up because keeping up with theory was too tiring. This hits home, and I wish you continually the best!

Coming out as transgender is like playing 12-15 moves of chess theory against the Najdorf Sicilian. Super satisfying but takes A LOT of energy. Pretty sure I have an advantage right now... 🤣♥️🏳️‍⚧️

Pretty sure we left no joke unspoken... @ChessChampKT @ChessSharkz - Thanks for hanging and being so kind! It means a lot to me! 💝🦄🎉

@coachqchess @chess_vegas Literally forgot I had this old X account until I got on X to see this post.

Can you break a skewer in chess? The talented @ChessChampKT can! @chess_vegas

This is Kayden's Dad. Both Brynndi and Shayla, Kayden's sisters, played Lindsey Stirling's Phantom of the Opera in front of a live audience last evening. Here's a song clip. Next Sunday they may play a more toned down song at Kayden's Missionary homecoming talk at Church. 😉

This is Dan, Kayden's Dad, writing - Yesterday for National Chess Day, Serenthia Murray - Kayden's niece - won her first chess trophy. She is just beginning to play in tournaments and she took... facebook.com/permalink.php?…

This is Dan, Kayden's Dad. Kayden is now able to use Facebook in his mission and I just wanted everyone to know that he mainly posts on his Kayden Troff page. Go there and you will see his... facebook.com/permalink.php?…