IM Andrey Ostrovskiy

I am here to help you with improving your chess skills. I have already helped many students, so I can think of myself as a chess coach. My grateful students also think I am. I still play a lot of chess myself, so I may be considered a current chess player. This mix is better for students: not only do I provide them with the theoretic information but also share my practical experience.

I believe that a good teacher-student match is not only based on a will. There should be something more. At least, a deep mutual sympathy is needed. So, take your time. Examine the information below. I share what I think matters for a better understanding me as a person. I guess it will help you make a clear-cut decision on whether to work with me or not.

I prefer dogs to cats;
I prefer brains to muscles;
I prefer Arctic Monkeys to Backstreet Boys;
I prefer coffee to tea;
I prefer Milton Friedman to Karl Marx;
I prefer iOS to Android;
I prefer WordPress to LiveJournal;
I prefer chess to poker;
I prefer listening to talking;
I prefer reading to watching TV;
I prefer Eastern philosophy to detective stories;
I prefer showing off to being shy;
I prefer learning to showing off;
I prefer Kasparov to Karpov ...

... in 90% of cases.

I was born in 1989. When I turned five, my father, who used to be an experienced player, taught me the basics of chess. The "real chess" began, when I turned 8 and started working with Pavel Savitskiy, who not only did teach me chess but also became my true guru. I achieved a lot in my life thanks to him.

In the age of 9, for the first time in my life, I took part in the Ukrainian Championship among men, not youth. At that tournament, I even managed to defeat the National Master. It was my first master's "scalp."

In the age of 13, I won the second prize in the Ukrainian Youth Championship (U-14) and represented my country in the European Youth Championship in Budva, where I managed to enter the "top 10" in rapid and blitz. That was my last youth competition; I began playing exclusively among adults in the national and international tournaments shortly thereafter.

In 2005, I became the FIDE Master.
In 2006, I won the Donetsk Championship and became the National Master.
In 2007, I did everything needed - norms and rating - to earn the title of the International Master.
In 2015, I won 12th Vasylyshyn Memorial and got my first GM norm.

I have tutored different students - from a nine years old boy to an executive vice president of the wholesale energy company. What that extreme cases have in common is that nobody stayed on the same level, everyone made a progress.

"... I started taking lessons with Andrei from March 20 of 2014. I have taken 77.5 hours of lesson from Andrei. We work over skype and google hangout. Andrei is very good: his excellent positional understanding, his thorough openings knowledge, and his practical hands-on approach has been very helpful. He works with latest top-notch software, such as ChessBase and engines when needed too. He is very fluent in both Russian and English. He has taken me from 2210 rating to my peak rating of 2274 USCF in this short period. Since starting working with him, I won 5 1st places in local tournaments and tied for 2nd place in a prestigious open. I qualified for Nevada state championship (only two spots qualify from Southern Nevada), so I am proud of this achievement..." (NM Mike Zaloznyy in 2014)

Known as the host of the "Training Tuesday" and the "Late Friday Night Banter Blitz" live shows on chess24, I made over 500 live streams on various platforms. I have contributed to the chessfactor in recent times.

I am not boring (well, I try my best!);
I am originally from Ukraine, which is a great chess country;
I have 20 years of the real chess experience;
I have played at the high level for 10 years;
I have been trained by well-known experts - GMs Igor Zaitsev, Andrey Zontakh, and Gennadi Kuzmin to name a few;
I took part in several training Camps of Mark Dvoretsky's Chess School.

The real value is “understanding”. To become a strong player or the one, who can truly comprehend the incredible beauty of chess, you have to understand what the hell is going on with all these pieces on the chessboard! Therefore, my goals are to inculcate in my students the passion for understanding chess, and to help them understand. Step by step. Move by the move.

I believe that the basis of beauty is harmony. Chess is not an exception. The problem, which I care about the most, is how to reach the most efficient coordination of the pieces in each position. When it is solved, I feel incredibly pleased.

No less enjoyable is to watch, how the harmony is born and killed in the games of the others. My favorite players are Rubinstein, Capablanca, Tal, Smyslov, Anand, and Adams. I think they are the incarnation of the harmony in chess!