Chess is a game in which perfection is strived for, only for mistakes or inaccuracies to steal the show. This is because to be human is not to be perfect, but to be flawed and yet still capable of brilliance. A human chess player makes imperfect play something not only still capable of brilliance but even more magical to observe because of how finding our way, then losing it, only to fight our way back isn’t just what it means to be human, but what it means to be truly alive.
There’s still more to learn about just how GM Daniel Naroditsky passed away, but one thing that’s clear to any and everyone who followed his work was that his compassion, which is defined as “Suffering together with another, participation in suffering; fellow-feeling, sympathy,” was extended to anyone and everyone who loved chess, not to mention to all who were just learning the game.
In this moment of mourning, then, I think Naroditsky would ask for compassion not only for his friends and the countless people he inspired and now leaves behind, but for the entire online chess community, however more imperfect we may be in wake of his sudden unavailability to guide us through it anymore.
Indeed, I think Naroditsky, as someone who strove to advance the game with every fiber in his being, would love to see more unity across generations, and despite the borders or other allegiances between us, so we can model for the world how to settle our differences, especially in light of this technologically game-changing moment, honorably and in the interest of every future generation.
J.T.