Streamer/Youtuber Offers Chess Lessons

I returned to chess last November after taking a break for over 20 years. I got involved raising a family and just did not have the time to commit to playing the game.  I got back into it late last year and it feels like I have found a lost love.  I enjoy the game so much and have improved my play to around 1500 rapid here on Chess.com.  

I decided that I would like raise the level of my game and started looking at online options when I found a review on Kestony.   I'm 55 yo and was concerned with how beneficial training would be for me, but I know I have plenty of gaps in my game, hence the 1500 rating.  When you're 1200 (which I was 9 months ago), a 1500 player seems really strong.  Well, they're not.  Trust me.  Anyway, I decided to contact Kestony and see how it would go actually having a coach/teacher.    At worst, I'd have a lesson and decide if it was worth my time.  Let me tell you, it was one of the best decisions I could have made for my game.     

Coach Kestony is patient and has such a good teaching style.   He identified a couple of deficiencies  immediately after doing the first chess exercise.   It was such an eye opening experience.  I have only had a few lessons with Kestony, but I can already tell a huge improvement in my approach to both studying and playing the game.    I have to agree with one of the earlier posters, Kestony has the ability to accelerate your learning and that in turns leads to huge leaps in your development.    I have numerous chess books and I refer to them all the time, but Kestony touched on a principle of playing light/dark squares, this morning, that I had never heard before.   It was eye opening.   That's where a good chess teacher/coach like Kestony is invaluable.   You can read things a hundred times but all it takes is once for a teacher like Kestony to say it, and apply it to the context of the game, and it sticks with you.    

If you want to improve and stop spinning your wheels, do yourself a favor and contact Kestony.  Again, best decision ever.

As a new adult learner who has worked with Kestony for a few months, I definitely must recommend him as a coach!
- He evaluates my weaknesses, explains them, and helps me create plans to practice and improve.
- He comes prepared to lessons, respects my time, and gives excellent homework which greatly boosts my game.
- He clearly loves the game and really gets me excited to play and study.
- He is kind and personable, as well as flexible with his schedule if I have conflicts.

He certainly inspires loyalty. Just from being good at what he does, or is he offering a discount or something similar to anyone who leaves a positive recommendation?

I had such a pleasure being coached by Kestony - he is a good chess player but an even better teacher. He curates and modifies your lesson plans according to your needs and goals no matter how miniscule they might be. For example, i had no grand ambitions to hit a high  rating and instead wanted to just better understand the chess tournaments I was watching. The intricate concepts, theories and meta. Indirectly, my ratings still went up but I was so happy being able to better understand chess, thanks to Kestony.

I recently started getting into chess after watching the Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. As an adult learner completely new to this game, it can be hard to digest the abundance of free resources available on the internet. After some struggles with self-teaching I decided to work with a coach to better my game. I decided to work with Coach Kestony after reading the positive experiences here and I am glad that I did! A good coach can help accelerate your learning by pointing out deficiencies in your games that otherwise may take you a long time to discover on your own. The lessons he provides are very insightful, structured, and engaging.

When analyzing my games, he identifies weak areas where my playing can improve and provides useful exercises to work on. For example, we had a training game with pawns only that drove home the importance of centralizing your king during endgames which allows you to infiltrate and undermine the opposing pawn structure and the concept of king opposition. One of many insightful lessons that I’ve had. Over the past few months he has helped me reach my goal of a 1000 Elo rating, and more importantly expanded my knowledge and love for the game. I can’t say enough good things about his coaching! Highly recommended.

I started lessons with Kestony as a complete beginner, knowing not much more than the rules of the game. I was deeply interested in learning more about the game and getting better as a player, but I was not sure where to begin. I also wanted to make sure I learn chess the right way from the start. Kestony has been a truly excellent teacher for someone like me. He has the perfect balance between having a highly structured curriculum, while also being able to be flexible about that day’s lesson plan depending on my needs and interests at that time. He will review your recent games before the lesson to gauge how you are playing right now, for example. He makes sure you cover all the fundamentals of the game, communicates clearly what you are doing right and wrong, and not to mention really understands the game and can explain things well. Highly highly recommended!

I have had several excellent lessons with Coach Kestony. I am a new beginner, struggling to get started and it was slow going on my own.  I came across some of Kestony's video lessons and his logical approach appealed to me as well as his pleasant manner and voice. He is patient, calm, and makes sure I understand his points by showing multiple examples and reinforcing what I have learned previously. Kestony has a remarkable pattern recognition ability and is able to clearly share his thought processes with visual demonstrations. I like that he focuses on the basics with me with a step by step approach, since I am so new to it. His homework assignments are targeted and helpful. His comprehensive approach suits my visual and logical learning style as well as being very enjoyable lessons.  I recommend Coach Kestony highly.

Learning chess is a process. When I started a couple months ago, my rapid rating seemed to drop lower when I read more chess books or watched more youtube videos. When I dropped into the 300s I reached out to Kestony. 

Coach Kestony knows what works, and how to get it across to the individual student.

For example, I'm the kind of student who works very hard outside of lessons on whatever homework is assigned. For me, Kestony has adapted to that learning style by making our lessons challenging and thought-provoking. We focus on the most important principles for my level. 

For other students, as you can read in this thread, he takes on other teaching approaches.

What matters most is this level of flexibility to adapt to your specific optimal learning style. The better you know yourself, the better the outcomes will be.

I'm picky when it comes to finding good teachers, because I can't afford to waste my time or money. Kestony is gold.

Kestony is an excellent, well prepared, personable and adaptable coach. Every lesson is a joy in and of itself and that's to say nothing of the incredible amount of clear and concise knowledge he delivers on a regular basis. 

I highly recommend him to anyone who would like to accelerate their development. I went from the 600s to the 1100s in about 3 months due in no small part to his excellent coaching.

He tries to be flexible with timing and is willing to take a detour in the topics if you need one. Overall highly recommended.

I understand the comments, I to have used Kestony. Very well versed in chess. If you use him, you will improve. 

I have been working with Coach Kestony for 4 months. During this time I have been able to improve my Rapid rating by 300 points - from about 700 to near 1000.

I consider this a very good jump as apart from the coaching, I am only spending a few hours each week on improving my chess. This means that coaching has played a big part in this rating increase.

The reason I like Coach Kestony is that he explains concepts very clearly. There are many aspects of chess that only a good coach can help you understand. Reading articles, watching videos and playing games will help you but there are some key areas where a coach can make a big difference.

I highly recommend Coach Kestony to anyone who wants to get better at chess.

I've been working with coach Kestony for a few months. He will meet you at your level and focus on getting the concepts and ideas right.  He has plugged several holes in my basic understanding, and in some games the lessons have already been set to use. I would recommend Kestony even if you're playing at high levels. 

Kestony can make a difference in ones chess capabilities as he has the talent to explain the concepts very simple and clear; i have been working with Kestony for 3 to 4 months now and have improved my daily as well as my rapid chess level; particularly he has helped me to better read the board; the lessons are exciting and i can highly recommend him

Great person and great coach. Now have been working together for almost 2 years. I've gotten much better as a chess player and as a result have greatly increased my enjoyment for the game. Highly recommended!

Into my second year with Kestony. From a complete beginner to yesterday reaching 1400 Rapid on chess.com and hopefully more to come. 

Really echoing the comments on here. YouTube and engines will only get you so far. We go over games that I have played, new ideas, master games, theory, practice against each other. Every lesson brings something new. He's a really lovely chap on top of being a bloody good chess player and an enthusiastic teacher. He genuinely seems to get enjoyment from seeing the improvements. 
So if you're stuck making the same mistakes, want to become a master or just want to gain as much as you can from this wonderful game definitely give him a try. 

Kestony says It's all about the fundementals -- and I like that!   It's not about a bunch of tricks or traps because those only get you so far.  Instead we work systematically through the important principles of the game.  Kestony gives me many training exercises that solidify the weekly lessons.  I practice the training excercises often, to address my weaknesses.  I especially like the middle game coaching and exercises.  In the past I have often felt lost in the middle game, but as I learn the fundementals, the middle game becomes filled with ideas and opportunities.  It's just more fun to play with vision and intention!

Hello everyone;

I was searching for a coach to guide me in my quest to better my chess ability.  I stumbled across Coach Kestony when I found his channel on YouTube.  I liked his process on approaching an opening, gambit, or endgame technique.  I did some further research here on Chess.com and decided to give him a try.  I have not been disappointed in the least!  His approach is detailed and methodical.  He has helped me sweep away the cobwebs that were hindering my game.  I love the "homework" assignments and he has helped me see things from a much more disciplined point of view.  You will not go wrong working with Coach Kestony.

I had my first lesson with Kestony about two weeks ago.  In the last two weeks, my chess knowledge, paltry though I know it really is, nevertheless has definitely increased.  I did the homework he prescribed, and already I am seeing and creating similar scenarios in games.  I am a firm believer in his ability to bring me much further up the chess ladder than I previously believed I could make it.

Did you post this, looking for a trophy?  A pat on the head?  Or for everyone in this thread to acknowledge how clearly superior you are to everyone who has hired a chess coach?  Because whatever your reasons, good job, you don't look at all like a jerk.