Going Above and Beyond: Yuriy Krykun
Welcome back to Going Above & Beyond — where we celebrate 5-stars authors who walk the extra mile or two for their students. This time, we showcase an OG of Chessable. One who’s carved a name for outstanding support and near-instant answers to reader questions.
“This, I think, is going to be a huge asset.”
It was International Master Yuriy Krykun in his course Unleash The Bull: 1…e5, explaining to the student how the bishop pair gives them the edge.
In his first Chessable course, his setup with an entry-level mic and a brick-wall background screams ‘casual.’ But the insights he delivers is anything but!
Comfortable Even When Out of Book
“One can really tell Yuriy has a lot of experience coaching club players. The explanations are to the point and very relevant. A big focus is on the general plans and ideas of the positions making me feel comfortable in most positions even when out of book.”
— MichelT, Chessable member
Honestly, we’re not sure what’s more impressive.
The fact that Krykun went on to publish 16 more courses. Each time outdoing himself in terms of accuracy and quality of instruction.
Or, the fact that between new releases, he still makes the time to support his students and answer their EVERY question.
Confused which move to play when? Rest assured Krykun will clear things up with a 3-move analysis… plus a ‘bird’s eye view’ of what’s going on in the position.
Worried about another Chessable author’s recommendation, giving your king headaches? In 24 hours, he’ll show you a scheme to turn the tables.
And if you’re bothered by a move, which looks familiar but not quite? He might just give you not one, but two plans to exploit the move’s holes.
Owning a course by Krykun is like having a top chess coach fix your openings on demand.
That takes up a ton of time and energy! So we had to ask what keeps him chugging forward. Here’s what we found out.
1. You've been noted for your exceptional engagement with students. What motivates you to be so active in the community?
“I have loved chess my entire life, and it feels truly incredible to be able to focus full time on sharing my passion!
From teaching young kids to adults, amateurs to pros, alongside writing courses, I deeply enjoy the selfless process of sharing knowledge and the somewhat selfish (jokes!) process of feeling great about finding new concise and effective ways to present concepts and ideas and being good at it.”
2. How has your teaching style evolved as you've created more and more courses?
“Undoubtedly, there is only one direction, both in writing and in teaching: towards simplicity! The more I write and teach, the more I realize the focus should be less on the amount of information and more on quality.
Nowadays, we have endless information on the Internet about any topic. So, what people really want is for someone knowledgeable to carefully curate the information for them. And that's what I do.
I often tell my students to read not the entire book, but only half of the chapters. Review only specific bits of information. Time is exceptionally valuable. If you have 5 hours a week, you can't afford to be wasting it. If you have 50 hours a week, it's also so important to use it most effectively!”
3. What else are you working on these days?
“Two courses, a lot of teaching, and a secret collab project! :)”
4. What's your philosophy on course creation?
“When I was a teenager reading chess books, I always found them a bit overwhelming. And I loved reading my entire life. Fiction, history, you name it! But with the opening books, it was so much information that I could never remember.
And then I realized they were written in the format of an encyclopedia. It's tough, because on one hand, the author doesn't want to ignore even the rarest possibilities, but on the other, the reader often spends time inefficiently.
So, I made a commitment to write differently, focusing on being practical and getting maximum return on the invested time. And, a dozen courses later, I still feel like there's a lot of room for improvement!
I definitely aspire to fit each next course within 150-200 trainable lines, a dozen model games, and a few dozen strategic examples.”
Catch more of Krykun on Chessable. And see for yourself how much better your chess can get, when your questions get answers almost real-time.
