May 2022
ChessGuides is excited to add Illia Golichenko, an International Master from Kyiv, Ukraine, to our cohort of guides. Illia has over 20 years chess experience, having coached students in over 40 countries. Illia’s education is in psychology and brings this experience to his coaching style. Utilizing an individual approach to each student, Illia shows the beauty of chess through inspiration and humor. Said in his words: “I make [my lessons] interesting for students and useful in the real world.”
Student reviews of Illia:
“Illia has been teaching my young daughter for the course of the year. After only a short period training, a few months after passing her seventh birthday, she acquired her FIDE Elo rating. Not only has Illia brought up the level of her play significantly, but he has done so in a way which has captivated her by the experience. Her biggest complaint is that the hour long lessons seem too short – time flies by when you are having fun. Sound too good be true.. Book a lesson and see for yourself. Illia isnt just an amazing coach, he is also one of the most genuine and sincere people that we know.”
“Illia has the teacher spirit. It s so clear. It was a pleasure to learn chess with you. ”
“Illia is an incredibly talented and patient teacher. My skill increased greatly from his tutoring and I gained over 200 Elo in a short period of time. He was flexible with his plans and helped me in specific parts of the game as I studied them. I cannot recommend Illia highly enough to any aspiring students that want to improve their game.”
“Illia is a everything a student would need from a teacher! He is a world-class player. He is approachable. He is patient and adapts to his students’ needs. He encourages students and helps them build on their prior knowledge of the game. Frankly, he exceeded my expectations and I could not more strongly recommend him as a chess teacher!”
“Illia was helpful for me in trying to understand my cognitive biases in my gameplay.”
“Illia is simply awesome. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable in the game, he is patient and explains the concepts/ideas well. I’ve seen the improvement in my understanding and highly recommend his coaching.”
“Illia is a great guy! Incredibly knowledgeable and easy to work with, I’ve learned a ton from him so far. He’s been very receptive to what I wanted to focus on and has had some spot-on suggestions. I’ve seen results too, I’m definitely no Carlson or Hikaru but I finally passed 1000 on my rapid rating and, not gonna lie, I feel fancy lol. Definitely recommend!”
“Illia is an amazing chess coach, steady constant improvement noted. He has a patient approach, yet makes lessons challenging enough to feel that you are being pushed to acquire skills as efficiently as possible. I feel that I come a long way over just a few months and plan to continue lessons regularly.”
“Illia is a cool guy who really gives it his all when teaching chess. His lessons are very relaxed and it’s always a pleasure to talk to him regardless if the topic is chess or not. His lessons flow very easily and he focuses on key concepts and positions that every player should know. Something else that I like is that every time we have a lesson, he is always so enthusiastic about the position and the concept associated with it. Overall Illia is the best coach I have ever had.”
