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Coaching
Last edited: 12/04/02
I have been working as a chess coach
since 1993 and have a lot of experience in this field. I worked with beginners,
enthusiastic club players, will-be IMs and one of the top GMs in the world –
Alexander Morozevich (as his second at many tournaments). I believe that player of any
level can benefit from working with me – once you are serious about improving your
chess. Even if you live in another town or in a different country, you can still arrange a
lesson with me. Such lessons have certain attractions - you don't need to travel anywhere
and can improve your chess from the comfort of your home! You can check what some of my students say.
Details of how we can conduct lessons are given below:
 Coaching: 
- Lessons over the Internet. I am a
vendor on ICC (my handle there is Irishbear). If you use ICC, we can arrange a lesson
there – you can pay via ICC (my current rate is 50 shekels an hour) or directly to me
(€55 or about $50 an hour). Payments can be made via credit card (I have secure
server online), check, bank draft or bank transfer. Please
e-mail me to make further arrangements.
- By Phone. Lessons
over the phone. We can discuss your games, critical positions, your
questions, etc. Calling cards allow to call Ireland pretty cheaply (perhaps around $5 per
hour) from most countries. My rate is €55 per hour.
Please e-mail
me to make further arrangements.
Combination of Internet and phone
is the best - if you can call me on one line, while also meeting on ICC, we can conduct
our lesson most effectively. I have 2 phone lines at home.
If you plan taking lessons, perhaps the following hints
will be useful:
Consider your goals -
think what do you want to achieve and how much work you are prepared to put into it. I see
myself as a tutor, who will show directions and provide useful help - but you will have to
do most of the work! I believe that having a lesson once a week or once in 2 weeks is
sufficient. If your bank manager approves of more frequent lessons, fine by me! :-)
Send me 3-4 annotated
games, so I can see your chess level, playing style, etc. You can send games via e-mail as
PGN or CBV (Chess Base archive) files. Do not show only winning games (no need to
impress me!) - select games where you had problems and questions. Do not use
computer-generated analysis – Fritz is not always right! :-) Share with me your
thoughts, plans and even fears, which you had during those games.
Prepare your questions in advance and don't be shy
to ask them – this will allow you to get most from our lessons.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Alexander Baburin, GM
"Given
that I don't live in an urban center (the nearest GM is two and a half hours away),
over-the-phone lessons were my only sensible option. I
hooked up with Alexander Baburin because I found his book Winning Pawn Structures
exceptionally clear. I'm happy that his
explanations over the phone are equally as clear. And working with him is much better than
reading a book because it's less passive. I'm
forced to think more during a lesson, and that's helped my game.
The first couple times I found it strange because
we' had never met face to face. But now I
think nothing of it, and I find it very comfortable.
And using ICC to go over games does have an advantage over face-to-face
lessons; you can save the analysis at the click of a key so that you can review it later
if you want. Paul Hoffman, USA"
"In the
beginning, I was sceptical about taking chess lessons since I have always tried to study
chess on my own. But I found myself stagnating at a certain level of understanding without
the ability to break through. Then some of my friends who were master level players had
indicated that lessons were very helpful even at the master level. I knew about GM Baburin
through his articles and his book "Winning Pawn Structures" [which incidentally
you MUST purchase through him instead of other channels]. Since I liked the way he wrote
and his enthusiasm about the game, I decided to take lessons from him.
Now, having
had several lessons with GM Baburin, I can tell you first hand that I have begun to see
the game differently. I also feel that I am beginning to have a better understanding of
the subtle nuances of chess. Together we have addressed many bad chess habits and
ineffective patterns of reasoning that I often engaged in as a player. These are things
which I would not have found on my own as one tends to "miss the forest for the
trees" [my apologies to Kotov, :-)] and I was trying to fix my chess game by focusing
on irrelevant things. Unfortunately, we are often not our own best coach or critic. This
is exactly the area where you will need someone such as GM Baburin. As a professional
musician, I can tell you that endeavours such as music or chess can be greatly enhanced
with the proper coaching.
Alex Baburin
is not just a Grandmaster, but also a great teacher who genuinely loves to teach. This is
evident in his attitude and approach during our lessons. I honestly feel that he treats
each of his pupils in an individual way and does not merely regurgitate the same lesson
over and over again to different people. His approach makes the hard work enjoyable.
[Sorry, there is no short cut -- it's all hard work]. Naturally, my ratings have also
improved. I highly recommend him as a teacher of all levels. I am not alone in this, as I
know of at least one prominent Grandmaster who has him as a coach. Our lessons have been
conducted over the telephone as I only have one phone line and am unable to be on the
internet simultaneously. This has not been a hindrance to me as software such as ChessBase
or BookUp may be used to take notes, etc. Finally I would like to say "thank you,
Alex". Sincerely, Tony Makarome, USA."
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