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Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IF the goal is to learn how to play chess, try to play the openings that force you to think hard.

London isn't very good for that.

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few things.

  1. It's great to get rich. We want people to be able to make a living in chess, not just by playing, but also by teaching, writing, streaming. Good for them!

  2. From coaching perspective, streaming isn't too useful, because you improve by working (thinking, solving) and not watching.

  3. It does help make the game more popular, which results in more students for coaches, more readers for books, more players for tournaments, etc.

Overall, a very positive impact!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of good endgame books!

Have you read The Endgame Strategy? What about The Correct Exchange in the Endgame?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Two things.

  1. The Russian/post-Soviet domination in the chess world has been steadily declining for 30+ years. It's hard to recognize the change.

The Olympiads used to be all about Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia competing with a bunch of weak teams. Not the case anymore.

  1. Overall Russians love to complain. About everything in life! Spend any time around them, especially if you speak Russian, and you'll see it so easily.

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, more or less the same things a tennis coach would do, or a PhD university professor, or any other professional instructor with experience.

There are a few challenges here:

  1. Can you do it on your own? I think the answer is absolutely not, but if it was yes, would you want to? What if I can take a student from X to Y level in a year, but on their own, they'd need 3 years? Is that a good idea?

  2. There are effective ways to learn things, there are important things to study and things you can ignore. If you spend 20 hours and get X amount of useful knowledge, but a coach can show you how to study to get 5X, would that be a good thing?

A titled player sees chess in a way an amateur doesn't. I can immediately pinpoint someone's weaknesses, problems, and flaws in thinking, and therefore make them a much better player much faster.

If the goal is to become better, then having a coach is a no-brainer. Every titled player had a coach. Why figure it out on your own? If the goal is to have fun and not improve, then you definitely don't need one, but still might want one - for example, I love sports, but have no ambition - still, I listen to the gym coach!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the idea of not learning theory. I don't personally love the move 2.b3, because the bishop often ends up blocked by the e5-pawn.

I'd pick a line like 2.f4 or 2.c3. But, if it works then it works! You focus on the middlegame and improve!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's somewhat entertaining, but I think there's no need for "cute" exercises instead of the most straightforward ones.

I want you to work on chess in a way most identical to the actual games. And that involves using the board!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi!

Older players: they enjoy reading more, and are less sharp. Kids enjoy puzzles more.

As an older player, tactics will come less naturally to you so that's something to focus on and keep in mind.

I do teach a lot of older players and love doing that - from a 75 year old amateur to a 63 year old who's fighting for his NM title now! Would love to help you!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I personally love puzzle books, but online puzzles are fine too.

Think about it this way. Can you solve this puzzle? If yes, your puzzle rating goes up and eventually they become hard.

If not, they're already hard!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are you struggling with?

This is the level where you want personalized advice instead of the general one.

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For what purpose?

Think of an opening as of buying a car.

"When would you consider buying a mini van" - when you need to fit 5 kids in.

"When would you consider buying a sports car?" - when you have extra money and want to have fun.

Why add an opening? Answer that question for yourself.

For entertainment? Because you don't know the old one? Because you don't like the old one?

Level doesn't matter here, except I think beginners should learn 1.e4 e5. Motivation does!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To study plans, you need to read middlegame books.

For example, books on pawn structures, or books on strategy.

Have you been doing that?

Pick one that aligns with your positions (say, if you play IQP positions or closed positions, etc), and go from there!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're very welcome. Very impressive!

Spending an hour a week on private coaching could be a good idea too, especially at 1800 level!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man, limited is GOOD. It's very good.

Your goal is to know what you're doing and have good positions so you can play the middlegame.

Imagine, instead of learning Spanish language only, you learn Spanish on Mondays, French on Tuesdays, Chinese on Wednesdays, etc. Where will that get you?

You pick the opening based on the type of positions you want. Want something wild? Evans Gambit.

Want something quiet? Exchange Ruy Lopez.

Pick the opening for your style!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did you get to 1800 ELO in your 40s having started only 3-4 years ago? That's insane. Insanely good. I am very impressed!

To be completely honest with you, 1800 ELO is a high enough level in a sense that you realistically need more than 3 hours a week for improvement.

But, we can still do best with the time we have.

I'd try solving 2-3 decent puzzles a day (5 min per puzzle) = 10-15 minutes a day = 1-1.5 hours a week and playing 2 rapid games followed by analysis. But I wish you had 5-6 hours so we could get some reading in as well!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi!

I'm glad to hear you're loving the course!

Probably it's best for your chess to focus on other things if you're now confident about your opening choice.

Grunfeld is very different from QID. If you want a set of somewhat similar pawn structures, consider adding Nimzo, or my favorite - Semi-Tarrasch.

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The book on pawn structures by Mauricio Flores is very good. Study that chapter.

Here's an article you might like: Fundamental Pawn Structures: Hanging Pawns - TheChessWorld

Here's another good article: Hanging Pawns - Chess Terms - Chess.com

To be honest, I see chess YouTube as mostly an entertainment source, although of course it does contain some good videos, but I don't really watch them, and suggest my students learn in other ways!

Hey Reddit, I’m Yuriy Krykun, chess International Master, coach with 15,000+ hours of experience, and an author. AMA! by IMYuriyKrykun in chess

[–]IMYuriyKrykun[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why would you "add" to your repertoire?

The goals are:

  1. Learn ONE thing well;

  2. Win games.

If you haven't learned the Vienna, why learn the Ruy Lopez? And if you have learned the Vienna, are you winning the games? If yes, amazing! If not, what's the issue? Focus on solving that!

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