FM Sergey Tugaj

FIDE Master | Elite chess coach with 27 years of experience. Current Classical FIDE Rating: 2247. Peak Blitz Rating: Chess.com — 2616 | Lichess — 2548. Published Chessable Author (profile: tugaichess). Chess has been my passion since the age of seven. As a coach, I favor dynamic chess rooted in a profound understanding of positional play. I teach my students to play creatively, fearlessly, and systematically.

FIDE Master (FM) title since 2009. Peak Blitz Rating: 2616 on Chess.com and 2548 on Lichess (ranked in the top 1% of players worldwide). Peak national Ukrainian rating is 2274. I prefer dynamic, sharp chess and positions with deep positional understanding.

I have 27 years of professional coaching experience, including over 10 years working at an Olympic reserve school training national champions. In 2026, my student became the World Rapid Champion in the wheelchair category (severe form of Cerebral Palsy, plays online with his feet). I am also an official Chessable author with a tactics series ("50-Day Tactics Challenge" for 1500+ and "Part 2" for 1700+ Elo). I have successfully trained my own children: my 16-year-old daughter is a Candidate Master and a multiple medalist at the Ukrainian Girls' Championships.

I am a 1st-category chess arbiter (chess judge) and have a strong background in inclusive sports. I have successfully coached hearing-impaired chess players, guiding a male student to 6th place in the Men's World Championship and helping a female student achieve high-level placements at the Women's World Championships.

I hold a Degree in Physical Education and Pedagogy (Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, 2001) and possess the highest teaching qualification category. My best skill is psychological empathy—finding a custom tailored approach to unleash any student's potential, honeying tactical vision, and building an unwavering winning mindset.

My lessons are fully structured using the professional ChessBase analytical software combined with my proprietary preparation databases refined over 27 years. I focus on building sharp, customized opening repertoires, boosting dynamic tactical calculations, deep middlegame planning, and assigning high-level structured homework based on my published Chessable courses.