I don't know a lot about chess and I have never met Daniel, or Danya as called by friends, but he was my favorite chess person. Not only was he incredibly talented and smart, he was considerate and kind. His videos didn't just feature chess and good teaching, but they were heavily edited to remove the parts that were not considered important for chess learning.
I wrote a blog post about favorite chess YouTubers and I didn't put him first because it felt disrespectful to even lump him with other people. He was above the podium, not on it. I am not kidding when I say that I wanted to be like him, he was that inspiring.
Only two days before his death he posted a YouTube video lesson - after a long absence- titled "You thought I was gone?" and then proceeded like usual. He looked a little tired, but then who isn't nowadays. I didn't have time to watch the video, but I liked it nonetheless, thinking I would motivate him to keep making these videos. Now I regret not taking the time to write a "Welcome back!" comment.
You might have noticed a new tooltip on the Lichess top-right user name, as well as the black and white LiChess Tools pages: the Preferences and PGN Editor. This will remain so this week, as a sign of mourning.
Man, I really liked the guy! May he rest in peace
The news really upset me. I still can't sleep. I always watched his games from the titled players on Lichess. I would analyze his bullet games in search of positional knowledge. His dynamic and risky play was impressive. And his speed and torrent of attacking ideas. Today, his legacy remains.
Very tragic to hear. Players like Danya are found once in an eternity
We will miss you Danya...RIP..
Your legacy and kind heart will be remembered by 600M fans around the globe, Danya
your legacy will be rembered
Rest in peace :'(
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