Road to Grandmaster

[benedgell]

I think you'd have better options price and choice- wise by finding a coach through ICC/ Playchess. I've never had coaching, though, so I'm not sure how the online version compares with the face-to-face equivalent.

[Mick Norris]

I think Nigel Davies lives somewhere up north - his videos seem quite good, so he might well be worth an ask.

Also, Danny Gormally was somwhere in that part of th world last time I checked, but I am not sure what sort of a coach he would be as I have not seen much of his material.

yes Joey, Southport and Durham are quite close, just like Gloucester and Canterbury

Nigel does (did?) coaching remotely rather than face to face, so that might be an option - in fact, if Will has Skype there must be loads of options, and I guess the internet would give even more?

[Will Taylor]

Ben and Mick - I've tried online coaching, but only with text chat, and think I'd get significantly more out of face-to-face coaching. It's true that Skype might be nearly as good though.

[Mark Hannon]

Does anyone know of any strong IM/GM coaches based anywhere near Durham (apart from Jonathan Hawkins, who doesn't want to take on any more coaching at the moment)?

Thanks,

Will

I would have said try Hawkins again , as looking at his remarkable rating history on the rating database he is the player who seems to have gone from about your level at about your age to GM strength coming 3rd only behind the 2 prodigies Short and Adams at the recent British Championship.

[Will Taylor]

Does anyone know of any strong IM/GM coaches based anywhere near Durham (apart from Jonathan Hawkins, who doesn't want to take on any more coaching at the moment)?

Thanks,

Will

I would have said try Hawkins again , as looking at his remarkable rating history on the rating database he is the player who seems to have gone from about your level at about your age to GM strength coming 3rd only behind the 2 prodigies Short and Adams at the recent British Championship.

I agree that Hawkins would be ideal, but I'd be surprised if he'd changed his mind since Monday...

[Adam Ashton]

I'd say generally that on-line coaching is not treated very seriously by most coaches. That said you can always learn something from strong players of course.
If you can find a good coach face to face you'd be much better off. Skype may be a decent alternative I've never tried it, given where you are it might be your best option if you want a GM/IM coach. Gormally is very strong but prob not that interested in coaching(doesn't hurt to ask though). Nigel Davies helped me a lot so I can certainly recommend him. He's actually miles away from you though as pointed out.

[Mick Norris]

http://chessimprover.com/?page_id=1262

Note, I've not done this, although I did use the annotated games facility years ago and found Nigel's advice very useful

[Joey Stewart]

There hasnt been much activity along the road to grandmaster lately. I hope that once all this university stuff is out of the way we will see some more of will playing against stronger opponents.

[John McKenna]

It will be easier to spot Will if we capitalise his name.

[Mark Josse]

Just picked up on this thread and whilst Will may be having a break from his GM journey for exams the subject of coaching is a good one. I have tried a few myself and i have found GM Nigel Davies to be very good . I have worked with stronger players but i think the combination of Nigel being a GM and having many years of teaching and playing experience helps him pitch things at the right level for a lot of players.

[Arshad Ali]

Just picked up on this thread and whilst Will may be having a break from his GM journey for exams the subject of coaching is a good one. I have tried a few myself and i have found GM Nigel Davies to be very good . I have worked with stronger players but i think the combination of Nigel being a GM and having many years of teaching and playing experience helps him pitch things at the right level for a lot of players.

Didn't he have quite a bit of trouble getting the title himself? If so, he would make an ideal coach since he would be keenly aware of the problems average players face in improving their performance. Some of the strong GMs just don't have any idea of what it's like to be slow and stupid.

[Sabrina Chevannes]

I have to say that there aren't that many GMs out there who are really good with the "weaker" chess players. It's not about playing strength but how you can relate to the players and gain a rapport etc.

In my experience working with lots of GMs, I really rate Neil McDonald and Chris Ward. I have been coaching with Chris and the KJCA for about 7 years now and he's great, especially with the juniors and I have just come back from Romania with Neil McDonald and they all love him! Both have many years experience of coaching and as you said Mark, this is a very important criteria.

[Mark Josse]

I think GM Davies went to Israel for a while and studied with GM Lev Psakhis and this work seemed to help him a lot . I think there can be no substitute for a student doing the hard work but i found him useful in that he was quickly able to spot the right opening to play, common errors , technical weaknesses and this for me was what i was looking for.
Sabrina mentions also GM Mcdonald and Ward and i have not had lessons with either of them but both of them are highly experienced players and coaches.
I think finding the right coach can be really beneficial to help a player improve and hopefully Will may soon be back online to share his thoughts