Chess Coach: One-on-One Lessons With an IM

Who George coaches

George coaches players from about 800 to 2200, juniors and adults. The level matters less than the goal. Some students want to stop dropping pieces and reach a first tournament. Others have a stable rating and want to find the last few hundred points. Others are parents who want a patient teacher for a child who loves the game.

He is the only coach on this site, which means the person who reviews your first game is the person who reviews your fiftieth. The work builds on what came before, and you never have to explain your game again to a new teacher.

His credentials are on the About page: International Master, one Grandmaster norm, North American Youth Champion and US National Blitz Champion, with a degree in computer science from the University of Chicago. They matter because a coach who has played at that level has seen the mistakes you are making many times and knows which of them cost the most.

What one lesson contains

Every lesson is one hour, one-on-one and online, and follows the same shape so you always know what to expect.

1. Game review on screen. You bring one or two recent games, played at a time control you actually use. We go through them together, and George asks what you were thinking at the moves that mattered, because the thought is the thing to fix.
2. One training block. We pick the single idea that cost you the most and work on it with positions: a tactical pattern, an opening plan, an endgame technique or a calculation method.
3. Written homework. After the lesson you receive a short written plan with the positions, the habits to practice and what to bring next time.

The point of the written plan is that a lesson is only one hour of your week. The other hours decide the result, and the plan tells you how to spend them.

How a first lesson goes

Before your first lesson you send a few games and say what you want. George looks at the games before you meet, so that the hour is spent on your play and not on introductions. In the lesson he explains what he found, how it connects to your results and what we will work on first. You leave with the plan.

You book a first lesson directly, with no call before it, and the reason is practical. The most useful way to find out whether a coach suits you is a real lesson, and you get that on the first day. Questions about the format, group or school requests and anything that does not fit a standard lesson come by email.

What improvement looks like

Improvement comes from three sources, and a good coach works on all of them.

• Fewer blunders. Most games below 1800 are decided by a piece left undefended. A short blunder-check routine, learned and used on every move, removes a large share of lost games.
• Better plans. Players who know where to put their pieces and which pawn break to prepare do not drift. You learn the pawn structures you reach most often and the plan for each.
• Sharper calculation. When the position gets tactical you need to see the forcing moves and count them out. This is trained with positions, not with advice.

For players who already have a stable rating, the work changes. We study your opponents' typical choices, build an opening repertoire you understand and review the games you lost on the clock. See the improvement plans by rating for what each level usually needs.

What happens between lessons

A coach cannot play your games for you, so the hours between lessons are where improvement happens. After each lesson you get a plan with a small number of tasks: a set of positions to solve, a habit to apply in every game, and one or two games to play at a slower time control so that you can practice the new idea. The next lesson starts with those games.

Many students ask how much time they need. A useful minimum is three or four hours a week, split between puzzles, playing and reviewing, and the plan is built around the hours you have. A student with two hours a week gets a smaller plan than a student with eight, and both plans are better than a plan that is too big to finish.

Three common goals

Students arrive with goals that fall into three groups, and each one shapes the lessons.

• First tournament. The student wants to play in an event and not be lost in the first ten moves. We build a simple opening repertoire, practice the blunder check and learn the rules of tournament play.
• Next rating level. The student has a rating and wants the next hundred points. We find the type of mistake that costs the most points, and fix it with positions and with games.
• A junior's steady growth. A parent wants a child to enjoy the game and improve. Lessons are short in explanation and long in play, with a written summary for the parent.

Packages and price

A single lesson is the right way to start. If you want steady progress, the packages lower the price of each lesson and give you a rhythm. Choose a package by how often you want to meet, not by the discount.

Cost depends on what you want, and the chess coaching cost guide shows how our prices compare with what other coaches charge and what you should expect to pay at each level.

Compare a coach with other options

A coach is the right choice when you know you are stuck and do not know why. A book or a video course is the right choice when you want a clear path and are disciplined enough to follow it alone. An engine tells you the best move but not why you missed it. Many players use all three. The coach versus course page explains how to decide, and the page on AI against a human coach compares the other two.

How to know a coach is good

Look for three signs. The first is that the coach reviews your games and does not hand you a standard course. The second is that you leave each lesson knowing what to practice. The third is that the coach can explain the idea in a way you can use in your next game. The guide to choosing a chess coach covers the full list and the questions to ask before you pay.