Chess Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky Dies at 29

American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky died accidentally at age 29 from cardiac arrhythmia linked to an underlying condition of systemic sarcoidosis, with methamphetamine and kratom in his system at the time, according to a toxicology report released by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Naroditsky was found unresponsive on his couch at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 19 by fellow grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk, who had gone to check on him after noticing concerning behavior during an online stream two days earlier. The medical examiner's autopsy, conducted by Dr. James Lozano of the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner's Office, determined the manner of death as accidental. Systemic sarcoidosis, which causes inflammatory nodules in the lungs and other organs, was identified as the primary underlying cause. While concentrations of methamphetamine and mitragynine, the active compound in kratom, were not fatal on their own, their stimulant effects may have heightened the risk of arrhythmia, the report noted. No evidence of overdose from illicit, prescription or over-the-counter substances was found, and Naroditsky showed no signs of...