I am close to 2000 Blitz and Rapid on lichess and I never had a coach.
one of the guys in my former club had a coach... no one else did. he was one of the weaker players, like me, but he was a doctor. so he could afford a coach. he enjoyed going over things with his coach. i think that's fine ---------- but i don't think he was improving much, in spite of the coach. so imho, the coach was great for him: no improvement, but it was fun for him to have a coach.
i think if you find a good coach, it could be worth it. most chess coaches i've met aren't very good. they'd rather be playing. NOT TEACHING. teaching interfers with their playing time, plus they have to mingle with the lower patzers and phish. and they'd rather not do that. i mean, we're humans. would we wsant to hang out with an amoeba or paramecium???? and does a titled player want to hang out with some hopeless patzer?
i think if you find a good coach, it could be worth it. most chess coaches i've met aren't very good. they'd rather be playing. NOT TEACHING. teaching interfers with their playing time, plus they have to mingle with the lower patzers and phish. and they'd rather not do that. i mean, we're humans. would we wsant to hang out with an amoeba or paramecium???? and does a titled player want to hang out with some hopeless patzer?
For a regular player, having a coach is like Cadillac fins: a status symbol (and that's about it).
Depends on the coach. I had a man showing me tricks and working with me, i got from 1300 to 1500 in less then a month. It depends on lot of factors, but a good coach can always help.
there's just so dad blamed much stuff on the internet...........seirawan lecturing.......... databases of master games (ok, kind of complicated), other guys lecturing and streaming, puzzles, ................oh, and 24/7 games against anyone in the world.......... if you can't improve, why in the world would a coach help? most are not very good, anyway. and the ones here in these forums charging $3 or $4 an hour? here's what you do: get a $10 spot, toss it out the window. same thing as having one of those guys............'coaching' you...........good luck
and like i said, when i was a young phish, it was a HANDFUL of books, no internet, no guys to play 24/7.........jeezus. and if you wanted theory and strategy??? unknown. tactics, yes. strategy and position? it'd be down a dank alley, at midnight, when the moon is not out..................
and like i said, when i was a young phish, it was a HANDFUL of books, no internet, no guys to play 24/7.........jeezus. and if you wanted theory and strategy??? unknown. tactics, yes. strategy and position? it'd be down a dank alley, at midnight, when the moon is not out..................
Your current level is around 1100 and your aim is for 2000+ rating, sure you can do it without a coach if you're ready to work on your game quite a bit. If you find a good coach they will pinpoint your mistakes and lift your game much faster then you can do on your own so depending on how fast you want to reach your goal is relevant to decide if its worth hiring a coach. If you got around 1100 and play lots of games without guidance there is a risk of cementing bad habits that will be difficult to deal with later when these patterns are hardcoded and corrupted your intuition. Breaking old habits is the first step to evolving as a player. Regards Richard
2000 really isn't that hard its the constant battle of gaining going way back gaining going way back that's the struggle especially when sometimes a random 1900 plays like a 2200 out of the gate and takes your points only then to play a 2100 and destroy them...
@mantis33
Obviously, in chess it is like with all sorts of skills: You definitely can learn faster and better with a coach.
It is not understandable why so many commenters seem to think in chess coaches are worthless.
And I'm quite sure, at your level, you don't even need a high rated one. Somebody with a rating of 1700 or so could teach you a lot. Help you a lot. Make your progress faster.
Obviously, in chess it is like with all sorts of skills: You definitely can learn faster and better with a coach.
It is not understandable why so many commenters seem to think in chess coaches are worthless.
And I'm quite sure, at your level, you don't even need a high rated one. Somebody with a rating of 1700 or so could teach you a lot. Help you a lot. Make your progress faster.
#18 A 1700 rated coach will teach you many wrong things, which afterwards will be difficult to unlearn.
Better a good book written by a grandmaster than a mediocre coach.
Better a good book written by a grandmaster than a mediocre coach.
@tpr I think coaches are more meant to teach you how to learn and help you to put in the work, than exactly what to learn. In that way, as long as that 1700 rated coach is effective, he can learn a lot.
Coaches are meant to facilitate the process not simply teach you everything you need to know. For that reason, top athletes in every sport have coaches -- and these coaches are oftentimes much worse than them at the sport! At the end of the day, it's always on you to have the right mindset and to learn and work. A coach may help things along if you're receptive.
Coaches are meant to facilitate the process not simply teach you everything you need to know. For that reason, top athletes in every sport have coaches -- and these coaches are oftentimes much worse than them at the sport! At the end of the day, it's always on you to have the right mindset and to learn and work. A coach may help things along if you're receptive.
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