I'm Coach Matt, and I've been a chess expert since 2016. I am based in Richmond, Virginia and offer chess lessons over Zoom. Here are links to my US Chess Federation profile and international (FIDE) profile.


FAQ

Is Coach Matt right for me?

I am open to students of all ages and skill levels. Unless you are already a master, I can help you learn to play better chess!

Will chess help my child do better in school?

Yes! Sala and Gobet (2015) reviewed 24 academic articles and concluded that chess has educational benefits, particularly in math. Link to my chess statistics blog

Where can I play chess online?

Two popular and free websites are chess.com and lichess. I play on both of them. The ratings on chess.com are similar to the US ratings from in-person tournaments; lichess ratings tend to be about 200 points higher. Chess.com also runs a kid-friendly version of its site, Chess Kid. You can also play on ChessTempo, but it is primarily for calculation training.

How good do I have to be before I can play in a tournament?

Most tournaments are open to all skill levels. If you are worried about losing all your games, here are my guidelines. Grades K-3: enter if your rating is at least 400 chess.com/600 lichess. Grades 4-6: 600 chess.com/800 lichess. All others: 1000 chess.com/1200 lichess (unless the tournament explicitly says it is for beginners or novices). You can search for tournaments here.

How do I contact Coach Matt?

Use my contact form here. I charge $60 per hour for private lessons. Here are some of my free videos to get you started: my chess YouTube videos

I also compete in memory tournaments and offering coaching to improve your memory.

Here are some puzzles to train your calculation skills. Playlist with more puzzles

Black to play and win
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Black to play and win
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White to play and win
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Black to play and win. If you thought the last 3 puzzles were easy, this will challenge you
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