Here’s that list of FAQs I mentioned.

1. How do I know this group is going to work for me?

The honest answer is that there’s no guarantee anything will work for you – it’s about making things work for you.

I’m giving you an amazing opportunity to interact with other chess improvers. And of course, with a Grandmaster and world-class coach, in myself. In fact, I am not only a Grandmaster and FIDE Trainer, but also a Certified High Performance Coach, certified by High Performance Institute.

I’ve also tested this group idea twice – both with my private students, and with my free Facebook group ‘Chess Endgame Studies and Compositions’. I’ll freely admit that my private students Facebook group was not a success (at least, by my standards), but I learned from my mistakes and adapted to make ‘Chess Endgame Studies and Compositions’ and now ‘The Chess Improvement Group’ a much more interactive and supportive community.

Ultimately, the more you put into this group, the more you’re going to get out of it. Chess improvement isn’t something that is endowed upon you by passive learning – you have to put the time and effort in consistently to get results!

I’ve created the most supportive environment I can, to help you learn faster and achieve your chess goals, but it will always come down to what you do, yourself.

2. What if I can’t afford to work with great coaches and players?

As a chess coach, I’ve met a lot of adults, and parents, who wanted to invest into chess coaching for themselves and their child, but they would say ‘I can’t afford it’. As someone who has also had financial struggles (including, in my family), I can certainly relate to this.

In fact, this question is the very reason I created my free Facebook group ‘Chess Endgame Studies and Compositions’ – which I see as a ‘chess charity’ that gives any chess player the opportunity to solve challenging chess puzzles and be part of a great community.

However, that group covers quite a narrow topic (endgame studies and chess problems), and there are many other important things we should cover for sustained chess improvement.

That’s why I’ve created ‘The Chess Improvement Group’, so that you have the opportunity to discuss chess questions, games and positions with other chess players, some of whom have already got to where you want to be, or overcome a challenge that you’re facing right now with your chess.

Ultimately, the phrase ‘I can’t afford it’ means that you either really don’t have $7 or $9 a month to spare right now (which I would struggle to believe – you can have 2-3 fewer cups of coffee a month, right?), or you don’t see the value that this group is going to bring you.

If it’s the latter, then I’ll address your reservations in the other questions.

3. Why should I join your group, when I can be part of a larger chess community for free?

I appreciate that this group is different to anything else that I know of in the chess world – having only paying members elevates the energy and the discussion to a whole new level. I am a member of paid mastermind groups, and have attended several seminars, so I know this as a student, as well as a coach.

Let me ask you this…have you ever been in a chat room for chess? You know, for watching a chess game or stream, a Facebook group, a Discord channel, or a Forum for discussing chess?

I’ve been in all of these, and what I have found is that the best insights generally come from the paying members – those with ‘skin in the game’ as it were. However, there have been so many times when an interesting discussion I was having with another member got derailed by trolls and otherwise irrelevant or silly comments – I think you know what I mean.

At least for me, for every valuable comment, there were another 10 (or more) I had to wade through…and eventually, I got tired of looking for needles in the haystack, or diamonds in the rough. 

4. What is ‘The Chess Improvement Group’ going to give me?

With ‘The Chess Improvement Group’, you will save yourself a lot of time, and learn a lot from other members. You won’t have people dragging you or the environment down – instead, we will all build each other up, with an open forum for discussion, encouragement and sharing our best ideas and methods.

There is a saying that ‘Your network is your net worth’, or, as the self-improvement legend Jim Rohn put it, ‘You’re the Average of the Five People You Spend the Most Time With’.

If you made even one valuable connection, and learned and harnessed their best skills in your own games and training, would you agree that joining this group was worthwhile?

I’ll share with you an example from my own experience. I’m a member of a mastermind like The Chess Improvement Group (but aimed at entrepreneurs). Through interacting in the group, and helping others, I connected with a moderator, who helped me set up my business system to sell products and services online.

You see, I love helping others with their chess, but the technology side of setting up the business had been a real struggle for me. A less stubborn person would have probably outsourced this job, but I’m naturally very curious about how things work.

If it wasn’t for the generous help of my friend in the mastermind, you probably wouldn’t have this opportunity now, to join an amazing community of chess improvers.

I truly believe that, if you put yourself out there, and engage actively in ‘The Chess Improvement Group’, opportunities and valuable connections could also come your way.

5. Why don’t I get more chess material in the group?

This is a great question, and I probably would have asked the same thing, had I been given this opportunity as an active player – and I wish I had!

In fact, back in 2017-18, I launched a ‘Patreon’ page, where I would share daily chess material with those that pledged money to the page. In fact, my friend and Olympiad teammate GM David Smerdon gave a very positive review of my Patreon page at: https://www.chess.com/blog/smurfo/self-serving-patronage

However, I realised that this model was not working, although it’s only recently that I understood why Patreon (and my private students Facebook group) failed, where ‘Chess Endgame Studies and Compositions’ succeeded – the engagement and discussion within the community.

You see, there is a lot of information out there about chess. Not just in chess databases, but with the range of websites, apps, books and videos on chess. You could say that there is an ‘information overload’ in the chess world – our main challenge is not in finding knowledge, but rather, determining what is important for us, at our current level and situation.

For instance, I could, in theory, teach you the Marshall Gambit in the Ruy Lopez for 20 hours, on video…but it’s not much good for you if your opponents keep avoiding it, right?

As an experienced coach, who remembers what it was like at each level I was at, I have a strong awareness of the needs of chess players at each level. But I also understand that your situation is unique and different, and you may improve more quickly by adapting some methods to suit your needs.

6. I already have a chess coach, so why do I need to join your group?

Ultimately, The Chess Improvement Group is not about giving you all the solutions or all the knowledge. It’s about working together and supporting each other, so that you can find and follow the training methods and thinking techniques that work best for YOU.

As our group grows, I will be happy to share more, and more varied, content with you – but I want it to be based on what you, as a community, ask for and need. I want to give you the most value I can by directly offering guidance for your challenges, at your level.

I won’t just be the silent gatekeeper, either – I will direct your training and approach with pointed questions, and add my thoughts to the discussions, when I have something unique to share.

You can imagine this group as your own coach:

• Who you can ask help from, 24/7;
• Who you can share and discuss games and ideas with, anytime;
• Where you can work with different people, from all over the world.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have that level of support and direction for your chess, whenever you want?

Compare that with having a private chess coach. I am a private chess coach, and had private chess coaching myself for most of my playing career, so I know this situation all too well!

The average price for a Grandmaster for private chess coaching is around USD $65 for one hour’s coaching. Even if they answer your questions outside of lessons (like I do for my private students), it’s still far more expensive than being part of ‘The Chess Improvement Group’, where you have the same opportunity to ask questions, and get valuable feedback on your games and training.

I honestly believe that this mastermind, this community of chess improvers, is going to disrupt the chess improvement industry, and eventually make private chess coaching irrelevant for nearly all chess players.

I have been coaching chess privately for a long time, and I’ve seen for myself the limitations of the 1-on-1 method – not just for myself, but also for my students.

And I’m ready to accept that, in the technology era, my old job may soon become redundant – and I’m ready to keep evolving with the times, and in doing so, evolve my level of service to you in helping you improve at chess and achieve your chess dreams.