Fun fact: It is typically illegal to sell a puppy younger than 8 weeks old because it’s considered cruel to separate it from its mother, but unfortunately corporate America expects women to return to work 4 weeks after giving birth.
Daniel Naroditsky would have turned 30 today.
It's been 3 weeks since his passing and I still cannot believe that this is the new reality. Every day I wake up with mixed emotions, sometimes more sad, sometimes more angry. I'm not a performative influencer and generally would keep these things to myself, but this whole situation feels so awful.
He impacted the lives of so many people, both online and offline. He had such a bright future ahead of him.
I hope we the people of the chess world never forget everything that made him exactly who he was. I truly think that there will never again be a person with such eclectic, high-level skill, mixed with wit, humor, and a sophistication most of us can only dream of having.
Call your parents. See your friends. Stay strong.
The silence is deafening
As the days pass with little to no actions, I become more concerned that FIDE will be successful in it's attempt to sweep Danya's passing (and it's cause) under the rug. So far FIDE has made one statement: a call for an internal investigation. The CEO of FIDE has a message accusing Daniel's friends for his death still posted. Kramnik continues to post threats, denials, and accusations.
The silence from far too many of Danya's peers is deafening. I have attempted to reach out to multiple other players to discuss tangible ways to put pressure on FIDE moving forward and the response, in every single case, has been effectively the same "it's pointless unless Magnus joins, FIDE is too strong".
That isn't good enough. We, as a community, MUST do better to honor Danya and to prevent further tragedies. What Kramnik was allowed to do, directly under FIDE's supervision, must have repercussions. A 3rd party investigation must take place. Changes must be made for the future safety of all chess players.
We need players boycotting FIDE events until this investigation takes place and real changes are made. We need sponsors to make it clear they do not want to be associated with an organization that allows systematic failures related to harassment and abuse.
My platform is small and there is only so much I can do, if you see this tag/reach out to GM's, sponsors of upcoming tournaments, and related parties. Let your voice be heard. Let the players know that you will support them standing up to FIDE. We can not let them continue to move forward as if nothing happened.