EP 460- FM Peter Giannatos on GM Daniel Naroditsky’s Life, His Last Days & How We Can Honor Danya’s Legacy
Perpetual Chess PodcastShow Notes
FM Peter Giannatos, founder of the Charlotte Chess Center, was a close friend of GM Daniel Naroditsky and played a pivotal role in encouraging Daniel to build his post-collegiate life in Charlotte. Peter and the tight-knit Charlotte community spent significant time with Danya, including in the days leading up to his tragic passing. In this conversation, Peter reflects on their friendship, shares what he feels is appropriate about Danya’s final days, and highlights a new fundraiser created to honor Daniel’s legacy. I’m grateful for the clarity and courage Peter brought to this deeply emotional discussion as the chess world begins to process and heal from this immense loss.
0:00- Intro-
Support the fundraiser here:
https://givebutter.com/naroditsky
0:02- FM PeterGiannatos joins the podcast and begins with the story of how he met Danya.
Read Peter’s Eulogy here:
https://x.com/PeterGiannatos/status/1981875015030079553?s=20
IM John Bartholomew’s tribute to Danya:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kclevjiPK5I&t=2s
0:09- Getting Danya to move to Charlotte
19:00- Clarifying the timeline around Daniel’s death
32:00- The weight of the allegations on Daniel
Mentioned: Daniel explains a Bc8 move that some found suspicious
https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1g7la27/daniel_narodistky_full_analysis_of_the_move_bc8/
43:00- How to honor Daniel’s legacy
57:00- One last Danya story -
check out the games from "The Meatball Match" here:
https://www.chess.com/c/2PprrfhA6
1:02:00- Thanks to Peter for sharing so many personal stories during a difficult time. Here is how to support Danya's legacy if you are so inclined:
https://givebutter.com/naroditsky
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from Perpetual Chess Podcast
John Hartmann is the award-winning editor of Chess Life magazine, a longtime book reviewer, and an expert on ChessBase, engines, and chess technology. He joined me shortly after a visit to St. Louis to discuss the ongoing U.S. Chess Championships, the renovations to the St. Louis Chess Club, the latest in chess technology, and his new AI-assisted chess newsletter, First Look Chess. We touched on:
GM Nikita Vitiugov is a former Russian champion who reached a peak ranking of #15 in the world. He has represented both his native Russia and England at the Chess Olympiad and worked on the World Championship team of his boyhood rival, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. In his excellent new book, Chess Metamorphosis, he candidly reflects on his varied chess experiences.
As a three-time Chess Olympian representing Chile, GM Mauricio Flores Rios, renowned author of Chess Structures, has fond memories of this timeless, biennial tournament. But these days, he is more interested in the instructive quality of the games than in the races for medals.
The Adult Improver series returns to spotlight another guest who has benefited from chess and improved significantly at the game. Chess was recommended to Leah Brown as a healthier outlet for a mind that, in Leah’s words, tends to “torture itself.” Leah began playing tournaments less than two years ago and already has a peak rating of over 1600 USCF. In our conversation, Leah shares the training approach that has helped propel these gains, including:
Jan Henric Buettner is a German entrepreneur, co-founder of Freestyle Chess alongside Magnus Carlsen, and a candidate for FIDE President. In his business career he has worked in technology, venture capital and hospitality.