How To Find The Right Chess Coach For You
If you are serious about chess, whether you’re starting the game from scratch or shooting for a title, a chess coach is a great way to streamline your improvement.
Today, there are plenty of chess coaches available, catering to different levels and offering various training plans and engagement. Knowing where to begin can be tricky. In this article, we’ll look at what makes a good coach and how to find the best one for you.
What Does a Chess Coach Do?
Chess coaches are usually talented players themselves, but in their coaching role, their goal is to teach, train, and support your development as a player.
This may take shape in very different ways. If you are a beginner, a coach will be more like a teacher. They might give weekly chess lessons in which they train you in the basics and help you avoid beginner mistakes. For example, learning a few openings, understanding tactics and basic positional principles, and exploring the initial theory of middle and endgames.
For more advanced players, coaches provide more rigorous training and assume a basic level of knowledge. They will identify the weak spots in your game and find ways to correct them. Other services might include tournament preparation, theory and calculation training materials, and practice games.
Perhaps the best thing about having a chess coach is receiving personal feedback about your game. As a player, it can be difficult to understand your weaknesses and see how to improve. Good chess coaches instinctively understand how to take your chess to the next level.
What Makes a Good Chess Coach?
There are plenty of coaches out there, and naturally, you want to find a good one. An effective trainer will be instrumental to your improvement. Beyond simply explaining chess concepts and skills, they will give you the tools to execute them in games. Let’s look at a few key features of a good chess coach.
Dependability
Like any teacher or trainer, a chess coach should be responsive and dependable. Serious chess training requires regular engagement. Chess coaches should be a support to your chess study routine, helping you stick to your goals in things like calculation exercises, learning openings, and reaching ratings.
Tailored Teaching Style
Every chess player is different, and chess coaches should know this. If you are starting from scratch, they should identify your natural skillset and consider how to develop it. For intermediate and advanced players, they should quickly understand where you need to improve and how to build on your strengths.
Overall, they should create a personal, tailored approach to your training.
Ability
It may sound obvious, but you want a coach who knows the game of chess well. While you can learn from someone a little better than you, if you are looking for a serious trainer, they should have a well-developed understanding of the game. While they needn’t be a titled player, you should look for someone with a proven track record of strong play.
It’s also a good idea to match your coach with your experience. For example, if you are aiming to win tournaments, you should pick a coach who has done so themselves.
Communication
It doesn’t matter how well a coach understands the game if they can’t explain things to you properly. From your first session, they should tell you something new about chess. Beyond simply recommending chess books, study materials, and openings, a chess coach should be able to translate knowledge into execution on the board.
How to Find A Chess Coach
On to our main subject: where and how to find a chess coach.
With the global rise of people interested in chess and the growth of the professional game, chess coaches are now widely available. You now have a lot more options about the kind of coach you want, how you meet, and where you find them in the first place.
Online
Today, a large share of coaching takes place online. Arguably, the easiest way to find a coach is to browse the thousands of profiles advertised on different platforms. Even if you want in-person lessons, local coaches will likely advertise online.
The main places they advertise include:
Chess Platforms
The major chess platforms, like Chess.com and Lichess, have pages dedicated to listing chess coaches offering their services. At the last check, Chess.com was advertising 1,152 chess coaches, many of whom are titled players. Starting with a chess coach is as easy as sending off a few messages to your selection.
Online Tutoring Platforms and Marketplaces
Various tutoring platforms allow language and specialty subject tutors to advertise and carry out lessons online. Many chess coaches will also be active on these platforms. Additionally, online marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork list a good number of coaches.
Social Media
Active coaches often advertise on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. There are many chess-related content creators, and many of them also work as chess coaches for individuals, groups, or through prerecorded masterclasses.
Other Resources
If you are all about the tangible experience of playing chess over the board, then you may also want an in-person coach. While these can be found online, you may also prefer to search through more traditional methods.
Local Chess Clubs
Every chess club I’ve visited has had a few resident chess coaches who hang around, play games, and carry out lessons. If you’re looking to find any kind of chess-related contact, a chess club is the place to start. This has the added benefit of allowing you to get to know your coach before making a commitment.
Word of Mouth
If you have chess friends and one of them raves about their new coach, this is another good place to start. Both online and in person, word of mouth is a great way to find a quality chess coach.
Chess Publications
There are plenty of chess magazines and publications where the social, economic, and cultural sides of chess flourish. Many of them have sections where chess coaches can advertise their services.
Things to Consider When Selecting Your Coach
So we’ve seen where you can find a chess coach and what makes a good one. But what specifically should you look for on a chess coach's profile? And what else should you consider?
Price
Chess coaches' prices can vary widely depending on experience and demand. So, it is worth bearing in mind that you may not get your very own grandmaster coach. That said, there are plenty of talented coaches available who offer reasonable hourly rates. Online lessons can be especially affordable.
Overall, coaches tend to charge anything from $10 to $150 an hour. For professional players, a different agreement not based on hourly pay would be used.
Goals
An important thing to ask yourself before selecting a chess coach is, What are my goals? If you are just getting to grips with the game, you probably don’t need a chess master to walk you through it. If you are a strong adult improver or aiming to be a professional player, you will need to find a more advanced coach.
Overall, it is important to have a clear idea of your goals before choosing your coach.
Related: Chess Grandmaster: Do You Have What It Takes?
Compatibilitiy
Getting along with your coach is important. You’ll spend a good amount of time together and will get to know each other well. While you don’t need to see eye to eye on everything, it's important to have someone you can work with as a teammate.
Conclusion: Find the Right Coach
Overall, finding a chess coach is easy, but finding the right one can be tricky. My advice would be to take your time and explore a few options. Making a good choice will ensure you improve at chess.
Most coaches will be amenable to responding to your message or chatting with you at your chess club. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Let them know what you want to achieve and how serious you are about the game.
Being upfront and taking the time to find someone you like is important. As many professional players will tell you, coaches are crucial to your chess and your relationship with them will shape how far you go with the game.