Teaching Methodology

My teaching philosophy begins with thoroughly learning the rules of the game including all of the intricacies of pawn promotions, castling, and en passant. Then some very basic chess strategy is necessary. Things like controlling the center of the board, developing your pieces to form an effective attack, keeping your king safe, and being aware of your opponent's threats will immensely improve a beginner's chess ability.

After this, studying chess tactics becomes crucial for the player looking to improve quickly. A mastery of chess tactics supplemented with a firm grasp of the endgame is the most effective road to chess success. Once students have a strong grasp of tactics and the endgame, we can then look into developing an opening repertoire that would be suitable for tournaments. This is the general roadmap for my teaching. In reality, I can be much more flexible to meet the demands of students and their tournament schedules.

My students who put in a lot of work in between lessons will get a lot out of chess and me as well. I'm very happy to provide support, answer questions, and play practice games in between lessons whenever I can.

Best skills

I am especially skilled with long term students. Most of my serious chess teaching was in the form of beginners (<1000) who joined my high school chess team. Many of these students achieved ratings of 1400-1700 within 2-3 years.

I began taking chess seriously in 2007 when I was 16. In high school in 2008, I was the only player to beat FM Albert Chow in a 30+ board simul at Aurora Central Catholic High School. In 2009, I won the division 2 state individual championship in Illinois. I also led my team to a top 25 finish as 1st board.

In the 2 years that I played for the ICCA (Illinois Chess Coaches Association) after high school, I competed in numerous open tournaments held at high schools and accumulated a rating of 2000+.

I recently started playing tournament chess again in 2018 after a 6 year break. Through 5-6 tournaments and a performance rating of over 2000 I raised my USCF rating to 1851, FIDE rating to 1830, and USCF blitz to 1971.

Teaching experience

My coaching experience began as an unofficial coach for the Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School chess team. In the few years I coached and played there I helped them achieve 3 top 25 finishes in Illinois as well as a 13-0 conference record in the SWSC.

After moving to Chicago, I then decided to build a business as a chess coach. This began with tutoring chess on Wyzant.com, where I accumulated 200+ total reviews of all 5 stars.  

I was then hired to teach for the Renaissance Knights chess club where I ran chess programs in different schools all over Chicago. I've since moved out of the city and make a living teaching about 20 students each week, coaching tennis, and running chess events in my community.

Risk-Free Satisfaction Guarantee

If the trial lesson doesn’t meet your expectations, we’ll gladly help you connect with another top-rated, highly qualified tutor—or issue a FULL refund.

Refund for Lesson Packages

You may cancel a lesson package with at least 24 hours' written notice before the next lesson. Completed lessons will be billed at the standard hourly rate, and the remaining balance will be refunded minus a 5% processing fee. The fee is waived if you keep the balance as credit on your TimeAfterSchool account for other lessons.

Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy

• Standard Policy: Provide at least 24 hours' notice before the scheduled start time to cancel or reschedule a lesson free of charge. Cancellations or reschedules with less than 24 hours’ notice will incur the full lesson fee.
• Grace Period for Packages: For each packages of 10 or more lessons, you are allowed one late cancellation or rescheduling (with less than 24 hours' notice) without penalty to accommodate unexpected situations. Any additional late cancellations or changes beyond this one-time exception will be charged in full.

Adult Supervision

All tutoring sessions for students under 18 years old must be supervised by a responsible adult.