How My Approach Has Evolved

I have been coaching online since 2009, and my understanding of coaching has changed considerably over the years. At the beginning of my coaching career, I mainly analysed games with my students and pointed out their mistakes. Today, the extensive collection of instructive examples that I have built over the years allows me not only to explain what went wrong, but also to show similar positions, recurring patterns, and possible ways to address the problem.

My understanding of the coaching process itself has evolved as well. In the past, I tended to use a similar approach with every student and did not always fully take their individual differences into account. Over time, after gaining experience working with players of different levels and completing training in sports psychology, I began to pay much more attention to the individual characteristics of each player.

Of course, I still have plenty to learn, and I continue to develop as a coach alongside my students. But since those early days in 2009, my approach has become considerably deeper and more systematic.

How would I describe my coaching method today?

During a chess game, a player is alone with their opponent and must make every decision independently. They have to manage their time, control their emotions, react to unexpected moves, and choose between many possible continuations. To keep improving, a chess player therefore needs to understand not only the game, but also themselves.

This is where my work with a student begins. I try to understand how they make decisions, study openings, and work with an engine, as well as how they manage their time during a game and organise their independent training. Most importantly, however, I try to identify recurring problems - the weaknesses that repeatedly lead to mistakes and lost points.

Recognising a student's strengths is equally important. It not only gives them confidence, but also helps them understand which types of positions suit them and which qualities allow them to outplay their opponents. However, genuine progress begins when a player understands the causes of their recurring failures. By studying relevant examples and learning to recognise the same problem during a game, they become considerably less vulnerable.

Over the years, I have developed several areas of special interest to which I devote particular attention - and about which I could speak for hours.

Endgame Work

As it happened, in 2009 - the very year in which I began coaching online - I suffered one of the most painful endgame defeats of my career. In a game against Alexander Moiseenko, I lost a rook endgame with only one pawn remaining on the board.

That defeat became a turning point in my attitude towards the final stage of the game. Since then, I have studied hundreds of different endgames, ranging from basic pawn positions known for centuries to highly complex practical endings played by the strongest players of our time.

The result of this many years of work is my Improving Endgame Technique series, in which I share my analytical findings on all the main types of endgames. I also bring this work together in my Endgame Camps.

Sports Psychology

Chess is not merely a contest of moves and ideas. It is also a battle between two people who spend several hours trying to outwit one another. In such a contest, chess knowledge and technical skill alone are not always enough.

A player needs to understand which situations disturb their emotional balance, how they react to mistakes, unexpected moves, and pressure from their opponent, what happens to their decision-making in time trouble, and how they cope with setbacks and defeats. Some reactions do not interfere with their play, while others require deliberate work.

The list of such questions could continue almost indefinitely. The essential point is that without understanding their own psychological patterns, players will find it difficult to realise their full potential. Sometimes it may seem that a good result is always just a little bit of luck away. In reality, however, the problem often lies not in bad luck, but in recurring psychological barriers that come to the surface at critical moments.

To help my students understand themselves better and deal with such problems more effectively, I decided to gain more professional knowledge in this area and completed training in sports psychology. This experience allowed me to make psychological work an integral part of my coaching method.

Classical Games

Today, many young players focus primarily on opening preparation with Stockfish and solving tactical exercises. Both are undoubtedly essential. Nevertheless, I am convinced that studying the finest games of the pre-computer era remains enormously valuable.

Classical examples enrich our range of strategic and tactical ideas, improve our understanding of typical plans, and show us how the strongest players of the past made decisions without constant computer assistance. When almost every modern player uses the same set of tools, finding an additional competitive advantage becomes more difficult. A deep knowledge of the classics can provide exactly that kind of advantage.

Of course, this work requires time and effort. But nobody ever said that the path towards chess mastery would be easy.

A Love for Chess

At the heart of my approach, however, lies what is perhaps the most important quality of all - my love for chess. I have been playing the game since the age of six. Over the years, I have seen and experienced a great deal, but I still never tire of playing, analysing, or working with my students.

So, if you love chess too and would like to gain a deeper understanding not only of the game, but also of yourself at the chessboard, you are very welcome to join me for lessons.