Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
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Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#2Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players?
Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in my game as compared to a more average chess coach.
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#3Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players? Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in…
Hard to tell. One thing I would like is being able to ask someone why the hell Stockfish is making some move when analyzing my games, but on the other hand I tend to be a rather self drive player.
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#4Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players? Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in…
Assuming your goal is to be a better chess player (reaching expert/master level or up), the answer is no. Grandmasters typically charge exorbitant price (at least $50/hour, I recall that Lev can charge $300/hour), but the main problem is that unless they have so much experience teaching chess, they won't understand why amateurs struggle at certain positions (since they get such idea effortlessly). The rule of thumb for choosing a coach is picking someone about 400 points higher than you (either USCF or FIDE works), who has gone through similar struggles and practices to get to that level. Honestly, getting GM coach only worths the money when you are 2200 and up.
Disclaimer: never have a personal coach before. Did play for a while in a chess club where the team leader is about 2200 FIDE.
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#5Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players? Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in…
Assuming your goal is to be a better chess player (reaching expert/master level or up), the answer is no. Grandmasters typically charge exorbitant price (at least $50/hour, I recall that Lev can charge $300/hour), but the main problem is that unless they have so much experience teaching chess, they won't understand why amateurs struggle at certain positions (since they get such idea effortlessly). The rule of thumb f…
This is sound advice. I did have chess coaches when younger. I reached 2100 at 17 but stopped playing shortly after to focus on school and other things (competitive chess play and study is extremely time consuming). Even when I was 1900ish my coach was only about 100-200 points stronger than me, but it worked out great. It's all about getting you yourself to put in the work. To identify your weaknesses and shore them up. Think of it like a personal trainer. Getting an old GM as a coach would be like getting Arnold Swarzenegger as your person trainer.
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#6Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players? Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in…
Assuming your goal is to be a better chess player (reaching expert/master level or up), the answer is no. Grandmasters typically charge exorbitant price (at least $50/hour, I recall that Lev can charge $300/hour), but the main problem is that unless they have so much experience teaching chess, they won't understand why amateurs struggle at certain positions (since they get such idea effortlessly). The rule of thumb f…
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#7Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players? Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in…
Yes. As someone who has a rating of above 2300 USCF (although inactive for a while), I can say a professional Grandmaster chess coach has helped me advance significantly faster. Also Lev Alburt is a great author, and he has a great book about the Benko Gambit from which I've learned many nuances about that opening.
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#8Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players? Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in…
Yes. I would definitely recommend it, as from my personal experience having an experienced grandmaster as a chess coach does help significantly. It's been a while since I've been active, but I became 2300 USCF pretty quickly after taking regular lessons. My coach provided me with many invaluable insights and guidance that a more average chess coach would likely not have had.
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#9Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level? Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players? Obviously, there are other reasons to go to a guy like Lev for lessons (the conversation, social cache etc.), I'm just curious as an amateur chess player if seeking someone out like Lev would make a notable difference in…
> Is a chess coach like Lev Alburt worth the money to someone who does play chess at a professional level?
IMO, the reality is that most professional chess players turn to coaching once their chances of making a living through being a professional player has disappeared. AFAIK, you're unlikely to find anyone ranked in the top 50 or 100 in the world who coaches (https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men). Sam Shankland may be a notable exception on that front. Most coaches tend to be older, at least 40 years old, since that's usually long past when most people's ratings peak.
With the proliferation of chess engines and cheap computing power (see how a chess engine running on a smartphone can consistently outplay the world champion), even many professional players have given up the need to have other players who serve as assistants ("seconds" they're called). Famously, Hikaru Nakamura, currently #10 in the world, has Kris Littlejohn, who's rated ~700 points lower and is not a master, as a second. He relies more on Littlejohn's facility with chess engines and software to prepare for opponents and analyze lines than any human chess analytical ability.
That said, it's still the case that for major matches, like the Candidates or World Championship matches, players still tend to bring multiple seconds/assistants with them as prepare for their upcoming opponents.
> Does a world class coach make a big difference when we're talking about amateur chess players?
Something to realize is that there is no special sauce to becoming a stronger chess player. Someone who's rated below 1600-1800 is likely to be making relatively fundamental tactical and positional errors in all stages of their game. At that level, any coach who's a stronger player is likely to be able to point out and explain these errors to you.
When I was a top ranked junior, I had a variety of coaches, ranging from 2100 up to international master (~2400) strength. I can tell you that the best coach was not necessarily the highest rated player. Having someone who was a good motivator, and could suggest reasonable ways to improve was far more important than having a coach who was the strongest over-the-board player.
At this point, Lev Alburt himself has not played seriously in competitions in many years (https://ratings.fide.com/hist.phtml?event=2000156). It's definitely possible that he's a better trainer than his own ratings suggests, but IMO at least some of his ability to command the rates he does is a result of marketing and the 'social cache' you mention. There seems to be an unfortunate association of chess ability with trading ability or general intelligence in the financial world, if not in the broader world. Lev is simply cashing in.
Re: Chess master Lev Alburt teaches strategy, patience, and prognostication
#10OK, nice article. I'm a chess player myself and so yes I did make some connections.
However, when I opened the article, I was looking for what those lessons were. At least glimpse of them.