A tribute: Naroditsky touch in chess lessons

FOR over two weeks in Singapore at the World Championships last November and December, GM Daniel Naroditsky had inadvertently become my eyes and ears.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @ Chennai

GM Daniel Naroditsky

I had covered elite chess before but this was going to be my first taste of the title match. This was going to be big because of the presence of D Gukesh, the first Indian to take part in the title match since Viswanathan Anand in 2014. Now, Iknew how the pieces moved but my understanding of the game was fairly limited. I relied on engines and had next to no knowledge on openings, middlegames and endgames.