Daniel Naroditsky, the Jewish-American chess grandmaster who died suddenly last October aged 29, had multiple drugs in his system at the time of his death, according to a toxicology report.
Naroditsky was found dead at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 19. Having been taught the rules of the game aged six by his father, he went on to receive the title of grandmaster, the highest title chess players can attain, when he was just 17.
A toxicology report from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows the player and commentator had taken a mixture of drugs prior to his death, US broadcaster NBC reported.
Police said in October they were investigating Naroditsky’s death as the result of a drug overdose, or a possible suicide.
Naroditsky's official cause of death was ruled to be “accidental poisoning after ingesting a drug cocktail”, according to the toxicology report.
Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik, 50, who was world champion from 2000-07, repeatedly accused Naroditsky of cheating in the year leading up to his death, which the younger player denied.
A prominent personality in the chess world, Naroditsky had over 300,000 followers on the streaming platform Twitch, and around half a million YouTube subscribers.
In his final live stream before his death Naroditsky spoke about how the controversy had impacted him: “Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions,” he said.
After the findings of the toxicology report were revealed, Kramnik posted a statement to his X account.
He said: “In the immediate aftermath of this tragedy, a cynical smear campaign was launched, unjustly linking me – without any factual basis – to Daniel's untimely death. This was followed by multiple direct murder threats directed at me, my wife and my children, which compelled me to pursue legal action.
“The authorities have now publicly released the medical examiner's conclusions, confirming the true cause of death (anticipated by many who witnessed Daniel's final stream)”.
Kramnik added: “I deeply regret that this profound tragedy was exploited by various individuals and groups to advance their own agendas. There can be no justification for such immoral conduct”.
Speaking after her son’s death, Naroditsky's mother, Elena Naroditsky, said “there was nothing more important to Daniel than his dignity and his name as a chess player”.
She told the Daily Mail: “Daniel tried to defend himself so much. The whole world was on Daniel's side. He played more and did more and more because he was trying to prove that he's not what he was accused of”.
Naroditsky was brought up by Jewish parents in California. Both of his parents had emigrated from ex-Soviet territories – his mother from Azerbaijan and his father from Ukraine.
He celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo in 2009, two years after he became the under-12 World Chess Champion.
The child prodigy published two chess strategy books in the following years.
As an adult, he played in five US chess championships. Two months before he died, Naroditsky triumphed at the US National Blitz Championship, winning with a perfect record.
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