How to Find a Good Chess Coach: A Practical Guide

The original author hired three very different chess coaches over about a year: an online coach from the Philippines rated around 2000, a local coach in Norway rated around 2100 to 2200, and a grandmaster for one premium lesson. The least expensive regular coach produced the best overall experience because he was patient, prepared and skilled at teaching the author’s level.

That experience supports the central lesson of this guide: playing strength matters, but teaching fit matters more.

Online or in person?

Online coaching	In-person coaching
Large choice across time zones	Stronger face-to-face connection
Easy screen sharing, studies and game databases	Natural over-the-board practice
No travel and often easier scheduling	Useful for young players or learners who focus better in person
Connection and audio quality can interrupt lessons	Local choice may be limited and travel adds time

Chess works unusually well online because both people can inspect the same board, annotate variations and save the lesson. In-person coaching remains valuable when physical-board habits, concentration or local club connection are part of the goal.

Do you need a titled player?

A grandmaster can see more in a position, but that does not guarantee a better lesson for a beginner or club player. The author found the premium session interesting but less useful than repeated lessons with a patient coach who understood common beginner errors.

Choose enough playing strength for the problems you need to solve. Below expert level, clarity, preparation and experience teaching similar students usually matter more than the coach’s title.

Where to look

• Ask a local chess club or federation for coaches who work with your age group and rating range.
• Use the Chess.com coach directory to compare languages, ratings, profiles and lesson descriptions.
• Use the Lichess coach directory for another international pool of titled and experienced players.
• Ask players near your level who helped them improve and what the lessons actually involved.

Questions to ask before booking

1. Which rating ranges and age groups do you teach most often?
2. How will you assess my games and choose priorities?
3. What should I prepare before each lesson?
4. Will I receive annotated games, studies or a practice plan afterwards?
5. How do you measure progress beyond rating alone?
6. What happens if our schedules or connection fail?

Use a trial lesson as an audition

Send two recent slow games before the trial. A strong coach should identify patterns, explain one or two priorities and show how future lessons would address them. Be cautious if the lesson becomes a performance by the coach, a generic opening lecture or a sales pitch for a large package.

What good coaching looks like

• The coach asks how you reached a decision before showing the engine move.
• Explanations match your current level and avoid unnecessary variations.
• Homework is specific enough to complete and review.
• Your recurring mistakes shape the plan.
• The coach can disagree without making the lesson humiliating.
• After several sessions, you know what to practise between lessons.

Red flags

• Guaranteed rating gains or fixed timelines.
• Pressure to prepay for many lessons before a useful trial.
• No interest in your games, goals or available practice time.
• Using engine evaluations without explaining human decisions.
• A much stronger player who cannot translate knowledge into a clear plan.

A simple four-week test

Agree on one priority and one repeatable practice task. After four weeks, review whether you understand the issue better, recognise it during games and can complete the assigned work. Rating may lag behind genuine improvement, so judge the process as well as the result.

You can also browse the updated chess blogs and creators guide, compare Chess.com with Lichess, and use chess books to support the work between lessons.