OMG! 100$ is just tooooooo much... when you are rated 1000-1800 these lessons can be useful but after that you can get going on your own
Grandmaster Coaching: When is it worth it?
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Yeah, that's a little high for an hour. I've always liked Valeri Lilov as a coach at a moderate fee. He's always been very receptive to my needs and is well worth the price. One thing that always intrigued me was to have an ongoing training with a well established coach that I could learn from continually.
A GM will have deeper knowledge of the game than another titled player, but not necessarily better coaching skills.
So at the end of the day, it's your choice.
PS : there are less expensive GMs too, for example GM Nigel Davies charges ~40$/hr.
i got a free lesson frm GM sebastian maze
I've heard some horror stories about GM coaching, that some are basically cashing in on their title and have no real coaching skill.
I'd defintely go with a Master or even Expert who cared about their clients and knew how to coach.
IM 'Tiger' Valeri Lilov is an excellent coach, and I do mean excellent. He's knowledgeable, trustworthy, and personable. He knows a lot about chess and is headed to GM status in the not to near future. Remember this name because he is great at coach and remarkable at chess.
You're not just paying for the hour they are talking to you, but also the additional hours of reviewing your game, analyzing your style and collecting example games that show how to correct your behavior. think about how much prep work goes in to the training that custom just for you.
I would rather buy a $20 book written by a grandmaster and good for 200 hours of coaching, than pay $200 for 1 hour of grandmaster coaching.
Good coaching is not necessarily proportionate to ELO Rating. A good coach wants to know two things about you:
1. Your goal.
2. Your playstyle.
Only by clearly defining these two things can a player be sure he is investing properly into his understanding of Chess. A +400 difference in Ratings and a definite plan is really all it takes for a productive student-coach relationship.
tygxc wrote:
I would rather buy a $20 book written by a grandmaster and good for 200 hours of coaching, than pay $200 for 1 hour of grandmaster coaching.
You could pay the grandmaster $100 to give you two reading lists, one for yourself and one which has been the GM's list of chess books read over the years, which may take anywhere up to an hour to compile, and you come back to the grandmaster when you have read all the books on your's.
Hey everyone, I just wanted to ask a question to the chess community about coaching. Is hiring a grandmaster as a chess coach worth it? Most GMs charge $100/hr which I think is a lot. I understand that you are paying someone for their expertise and skill, but what makes their coaching far better than a NM, or FM, etc. If you are rated just about 2000 OTB, is it worth it to pay that much for lessons? When is it worth it to pay that much for lessons?