An American chess grandmaster is dead at 29. Last year, he said an 'evil' Russian player was trying 'to destroy my life'

Daniel Naroditsky , a chess grandmaster who built a global following through his accessible teaching style and blitz chess mastery, died unexpectedly at 29 , his family announced Monday. The California-born player, who posted his first YouTube video after a nine-month absence last Friday, was found unconscious on a couch at his Charlotte, N.C., home on Sunday by club founder Peter Giannatos and grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk . The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Since his death, many in the chess community, including leadership in the International Chess Federation (FIDE), have pointed fingers at a prolonged conflict between Naroditsky and Russian former world champion Vladimir Kramnik , who spent more than a year publicly accusing Naroditsky of cheating in online che