Here you'll find a list of Frequently Asked Questions about our Game Annotation Plans. Don't forget to check the FAQ Categories on the right.
If I didn't think I was a good coach, I wouldn't be doing this job. There are many coaches around, but there are some questions
which perhaps you should be putting forward, such as:
Do they really enjoy coaching other people?
Do they have the experience to teach? because teaching is a lot more than just being able to play well...
Do they spend more time and effort on their students than reasonably expected to?
Do they love chess and their work?
Have they developed training systems for their students?
Do they annotate their games?
Do they have original files and material that they have worked on for years?
Do they offer full on-line support?
Apart from making a profit, have they contributed in any way to the chess community?
I can reply "Yes, I do" to all those questions...
I'm not saying I'm the only coach who has, but when choosing one, I think you should bear those things in mind...
But at the end of the day, it all comes down to one simple answer: I love teaching chess, it's my passion, and it's what I do best.
First of all, have you filled in the information request form and read my pdf file? my rates are really not that high and you get quite a lot. Unfortunately the distribution of wealth around the world is extremely unfair but I'm not in a position to lower my fees. I can only suggest that you try to hire someone form your local area where fees are more in line with what you can afford. Having said that, I do offer discount coupons from time to time. If you wish to be notified when one comes out, please fill in this form.
I normally travel between Australia and Spain (I'm a dual citizen). Between 2005 and 2014, I only lived in Australia (that´s where most of my family lives) but in 2015 I moved back to Spain and will probably stay here for a number of years.
I'm pretty sure we can figure something out: I can wake up really early, or stay up till late, weekends are an option, etc. It's never been an issue, and I've had students from all over the world... .
For on-line coaching, I rarely work with more than 10 students. Beware of coaches who work with many more students because if you add up the number of hours a coach is supposed to spend with them on a weekly basis, the numbers simply can't match!
You will realise when you see it, I assure you! these are some of my tasks:
That depends on many different factors such as your age, availability, goals, motivation, current level... Professional coaches agree that it would take an average of around 100 hours to pass on real knowledge and efficient methodology to a player of around 1800.
Outsourcing, like some phone companies do? Look, I'm not that sophisticated! I don't toy with the hopes and expectations of my students, their goals are also my goals, their dreams are also my dreams. I don't fool around with something as serious as that. And don't understimate something that I keep saying: I love playing chess and coaching people, why would I want someone else to do my job if I enjoy doint it myself so much?
Yes, that would be possible, particularly if we're doing opening practice or sparring. For general training plans, 2 hours of on-line coaching can be a little tough on the student. Don't forget that my lessons normally involve working on study files and so on.
For the standard coaching plan, you can choose 50% of the topics that we'll cover in our lessons if you wish. However, if you only wish to work on your repertoire, then of course you can choose all openings that we'll be working on.
The "training games" coaching plan would be ideal for that.
By all means. Get in touch with me and perhaps we can get something going. I'll send you an estimate.