American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky had multiple drugs in his system when he died last year at the age of 29, according to media reports that accessed a toxicology report into the popular chess streamer’s death.
Naroditsky was found dead at his home in Charlotte in October 2025. His body had methamphetamine, amphetamine, 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine in the system at the time of death, according to a toxicology report provided to NBC News by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
While methamphetamine and amphetamine are synthetic stimulants, 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine are major psychoactive ingredients found in kratom, a supplement that can be used as a stimulant. A report in The Guardian noted that Kratom is legal in much of the United States but it’s a substance that is unregulated at the federal level and has been linked by the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to dependency, psychosis and withdrawal symptoms.
The American GM was discovered unconscious in October last year by two of his closest friends, Oleksandr Bortnyk and Peter Giannatos, founder of the Charlotte Chess Center, where Naroditsky served as head coach and grandmaster-in-residence.
This undated photo released by Charlotte Chess Center shows Daniel Naroditsky playing chess on the board. (Kelly Centrelli/Charlotte Chess Center via AP
Fondly known in the chess community as Danya, the American GM was a chess prodigy who became a Grandmaster at the age of 18. He was particularly good when it came to playing in the faster time controls like blitz.
After Naroditsky’s death, there had been a public outcry on social media with many in the chess world turning on former world champion Vladimir Kramnik who had repeatedly accused Naroditsky of cheating in online games, allegations that were never substantiated and that Naroditsky consistently denied. Close friends of Naroditsky had also spoken out and revealed that the popular streamer had been deeply distressed in the days before his death due to the allegations from Kramnik, whom Naroditsky had once admired.
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In an interview with The Indian Express, Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin had accused Kramnik of “taking a life”. The legendary Levon Aronian had told The Indian Express that Kramnik needed professional help because he had a saviour complex.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) had opened an investigation into Kramnik’s conduct and said that it was examining whether the former world champion from Russia should face disciplinary measures for his statements about Naroditsky both before and after his death. During the FIDE World Cup in India, FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich had revealed that he asked Vladimir Kramnik to share proof of cheating before Daniel Naroditsky’s death, but got nothing from former world champion.
FIDE had also announced plans for a memorial award in Naroditsky’s name. His death had led to an outpouring of emotions, with former world champion Magnus Carlsen describing him as “a resource to the chess community”. Hikaru Nakamura had called him “the best of us”.
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