GM Hikaru Nakamura is a multiple time US Champion, and maybe the most accomplished chess player in the history of the internet! He loves and excels at faster time controls having earned top spots in the FIDE blitz and rapid ratings. Nakamura often has the highest blitz and bullet ratings on Chess.com!
With numerous "scholastic chess accomplishments" to boast of, both as a player and a coach, Danny has been a "chess professional" since his early teens. He earned the IM title at age 23. A part owner and full time Staff Member for Chess.com LLC, Danny is our Vice President of Content and Professional Operations, managing the products and "team of contributors" you enjoy here, as well as for our scholastic extension site, ChessKid.com.
Affectionately known to the chess world as "The Ginger GM" - Simon is one of the most prolific video authors in the chess world. Known for his fun and aggressive style, Simon's videos are often as hilarious as they are educational.
Women's Grandmaster Tatev Abrahamyan is one of the top-rated women chess players in the United States. Born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1988 - Tatev came to the U.S. as a young girl, and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually joining the U.S. Women's Olympic Team. Tatev has revealed many of her opening and training secrets in her chess.com series!
GM Daniel Naroditsky is one of the top bullet and blitz players on chess.com and one of the most fun video authors and streamers as well. His advice about the practical side of chess is immeasurable and his sense of humor is a great addition!
Kostya Kavutskiy is an IM and coach on the Chess Dojo team. Apart from video lessons, he can be seen all over chess.com working on Chess Mentor, Chess TV, and more! Kostya's written and done videos on many topics, including a hilarious series on the funniest chess games ever played!
NM Sam Copeland is an experienced chess educator. He's a specialist in computer chess and can break down complex ideas in fun an understandable ways. Check out his coverage of top engine games and cunning opening surprises.
Mike Klein began playing chess at the age of four in Charlotte, NC. In 1988, he won the K-3 National Championship, and eventually became North Carolina's youngest-ever master. In 1996, he won clear first for under-2250 players in the top section of the World Open. Mike has taught chess full-time for many years in New York City and Charlotte, with his students and teams winning many national championships.
In his youth Grandmaster Robert Hess was one of America's leading talents, winning the U.S. Junior at age 14, becoming a GM at 17, and surprising the nation by placing second behind Nakamura at the 2009 U.S. Championship. Robert loves to make chess accessible to the public and frequently broadcasts events on chess.com.
NM Dane Mattson has recorded dozens of lessons, taking chess players from the very basics up through intermediate and advanced concepts. Dane's patient style is great for ensuring that viewers get the most out of every lesson!
Sam learned chess at age 11 from the Berkeley Chess School program. He rose very quickly, became a GM and won the 2018 US Championship! Sam has competed with many of the top players in the world and his videos give an amazing glimpse into chess at the highest level.
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk is the 12th Women's World Chess Champion. She was born in Perm, Russia and began to chess at the age of 5. During her career she won many titles and prestigious chess events. At the age of 14 she became a WGM. In 2001, at the age of 17, I reached the final stage of the women's world chess championship and became the vice-champion of the world. In The peak achievement of her career was in 2008 when she won the women's world chess championship in Nalchik, Russia.
GM Aman Hambleton is one of the Chessbrahs, a fun-loving group of Canadian chess professionals. Aman's videos are popular for their humor and educational content, not to mention his hairstyles!
IM Levy Rozman is one of the most popular chess streamers and educators in the world. He's a favorite for his educational and funny content. Check out what makes him one of the top chess teachers today.
At the age of twelve, David was lucky to be brought by his mother to a session of the Berkeley Chess School's Friday night kid's chess club, where he met NM Robert Haines, who showed him what chess was. Many years later, he is still in love with the game. He has shared first in a few major tournaments, eg: American Open, North American Open, and Open Rohde (France), and played in several US Championships. Check out his series on how to become a tactical genius!
Maestro FIDE y entrenador de ajedrez. Editor y director de Capakhine, la revista de ajedrez para los niños y sus padres. Siempre pensando en crear contenidos que puedan ser útiles para el progreso ajedrecÃstico. Creativo, bloguero, youtuber y un poco friki.
Dejan Bojkov is a Grandmaster, originally from Bulgaria. As a youngster, Dejan was the winner of numerous Youth Championships -- including Boys Under 14 and Boys Under 18 Bulgarian Champion. Today Dejan trains many promising students and records some of the most educational series on chess.com.
A true "Chess Professional", Grandmaster Ben Finegold has been competing on the highest levels of chess for nearly 25 years. He has competed in 8 U.S. Closed Championships and was the first "GM in Residence" at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. His laid back, humorous teaching style.
GM Krikor Mekhitarian is the voice of chess.com for our Portugese speaking audience. His English is great too and he can frequently be heard streaming Titled Tuesday events! Check out his exciting My Best Game video!
Grandmaster Judit Polgar is the strongest female chess player of all time. Ranked #1 in the world for just shy of 25 years, Judit's contributions to chess both on and off the chess board are many. Besides being one of the best chess players in history, she serves as an ambassador for the game through the Judit Polgar Chess Foundation for Education Benefits.
Seirawan began playing chess at 12; at 13 he became Washington junior champion. At 19 he won the World Junior Chess Championship. In 1980, he tied for first with Walter Browne in Wijk Aan Zee and was invited by Viktor Korchnoi to be his coach in the 1980/81 Candidate Matches and World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. Seirawan was twice a Candidate, four time US Champion, was ranked in the world's top ten and played for ten US Olympiad teams. He retired from tournament play in September 2003.
GM Romain Edouard has won many of the strongest open tournaments in the world, but he's best known for his amazing teaching skills. Romain's videos entertain and include the tactics and strategic ideas that have made him one of the best chess writers around.
IM Tuan Minh Le is consistently one of the top blitz and bullet players on chess.com. His videos focus on innovative ideas in the opening and middlegames that are sure to catch your opponents off guard!
NM Jeremy Kane is the Curriculum Director at chess.com. and the three-time Wisconsin State Champion. He's popular for his ability to make high-level content relatable for anyone. Check out his series on defending difficult positions and other videos!
FM and WGM Qiyu Zhou is a prodigious chess streamer and educator. She's has a fun, fast paced style and often focuses on the entertaining parts of the game. Chess out her great series on the best chess swindlers of all time!
GM Max Illingworth is one of the top players in the history of Australian chess and is now a full time chess teacher. He's best known for giving students the tools they need to improve their own chess games! Check out his series on Learning From Your Mistakes!
International Master Keaton Kiewra is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska - USA where he set multiple state records, including nine consecutive state championships. A professional chess instructor now, Keaton is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, and he has trained with many of the best chess players in the United States. His lessons always have a personal touch as he's not shy about sharing his own chess secrets.
IM Mateusz Bobula is a popular chess streamer and educator. He excels in making complicated concepts understandable. Check out his great opening series!
Valeri feels fortunate to have learned to play chess from his father when he was only three, immediately becoming seriously engaged. By the age of seven he was able to play blindfold chess in several games at the same time. At the age of eight, he became the European Individual School Chess Champion U10 in Moscow, Russia. He has won over 30 medals in national and international competitions, and in 2008 achieved his highest rating of 2443 and in 2013, the title of International Master.
Thomas learned chess at the age of 5 and was immediately hooked. In 1999 he won the United Kingdom Schools Chess Challenge ahead of 35,000 other competitors and remins the youngest ever winner of the event. Thomas became an International Master in 2006 and got a GM norm at the 2007 Gibtelecom Masters where he finished 5th (along with Michael Adams and Ivan Sokolov). Thomas is now a regular chess coach with England at the World and European Youth Championships.
They say you should learn try to learn from the best. Jon Ludvig Hammer certainly did, attending a Norwegian sports high School, alongside Magnus Carlsen. With 10 hours a week of chess in the curriculum, Hammer claims he just tried to copy his classmate’s style. It has worked for him, as he reached top 50 in the world in 2015. During his rise, Hammer even beat World Champion Carlsen at the 2015 NorwayChess tournament – a game one of his videos is devoted to. He has been a second for Carlsen in world championship matches, and has been a regular on national TV to comment on Carlsen’s tournaments. He has also toured the country, giving lectures to everyone from complete beginners to experienced masters.
Since learning chess at the age of 5, Teddy has been hooked. For most of his youth, he was top 10 for his age in the country, winning the K-4 Nationals and U12 Pan-American Games, playing in the US Cadets and Juniors, and representing the US three times in the World Youth Chess Championships. After graduating college, he took a year to play chess and earned the IM title at the age of 22. In recent years, he has been more of a spectator, yet he still loves teaching the game to kids, following top tournaments, and playing online, including in the IM Not A GM Championship.
IM Anna Rudolf learned to play chess at the age of 4 from a computer game called Battle Chess. Through weekly training sessions and moderate chocolate consumption, she became Hungarian Champion at the age of 11. She went on to win medals at numerous youth events, including European and World Championships. In 2008 she accomplished her childhood dream by entering the Olympic team of Hungary. She is a three-times Hungarian Women's Champion and is known for her aggressive style: exploiting positional weaknesses and converting endgames. In 2017 she announced her retirement from the Olympic team and now focuses on her professional career as a chess author, commentator, reporter, edutainer, vlogger, streamer. She loves chess and considers her mission to project this love and how cool chess is...
Mark learned chess at age 6 but only at age 13 was he informed that tournaments existed! He received the International Master title at age 22 and had a peak USCF rating of 2578 in 1993. Mark has twice been the Manhattan Chess Club Champion, and has also played quite a bit overseas. Mark has a PhD in Information Systems from NYU. Mark currently resides in Tucson, AZ. Mark believes that if logic is applied then imaginative ideas work better. This belief comes through in his teaching style and practices.
Todd's tournament experience began with a bang, winning the u1200 section of his first tournament. In one year of feverish study and play he gained an unprecedented 1000 rating points. Since establishing himself as a strong master, he has turned to teaching, and found it extremely rewarding as well. He has also been quite successful: his students have won national championships.
Charles picked up chess in middle school after his mother bought him what was then Chessmaster 7000. The one and only chess club in town was in an establishment previously owned by his father so needless to say he felt right at home. Locally, he excelled at the scholastic level going on to become Florida's K-12 Champion and Denker representative.
IM Nazi Paikidze had a successful career in youth chess, winning a combined total of six gold medals at the European and World Youth Championships. By the age of 16, she reached her peak FIDE rating of 2455 and was among the top 40 women in the world. Nazi moved to the United States in 2012 and began representing the country shortly afterward in 2014. She won the US Women's Championship in 2016 and 2018.
Josh grew up in New Hampshire under the tutelage of NM Hal Terrie. He never improved very fast, but he never stopped either. Eventually, Josh passed 2500 FIDE and earned the GM title. Josh is a brilliant calculator and shares his secrets in chess.com videos.
GM Aleksander Delchev is an experienced chess player, writer, and educator. He played many times for the Bulgarian national team and is an expert on openings. Check out his amazing series on the Scotch!
GM Melik began coaching early in his career and has brought up three Junior World Champions (among them Levon Aronian). In 2001, he immigrated to the US, where he qualified to play in the U.S. Championship several times. He earned his Grandmaster title in 2006. Check out his GM secrets in each video!
GM Perelshteyn learned chess from his father, a professional chess coach. His record of accomplishments is long; some of his honors include: 2000 US Junior Champion, and first place in 2003 Generation Chess Invitational, 2006 Foxwoods Open, and 2007 Spice Cup. As a chess teacher, he is the author of two bestsellers: Chess Openings for Black, Explained and Chess Openings for White, Explained (with GMs Dzindzihashvili and Alburt).
GM Dzindzichashvili was once one of the top players in the world. Born in Georgia, his chess first developed in the USSR. While still an International Master, he defeated opponents like Botvinnik and Bronstein before emigrating, first to Israel where he became a Grandmaster, and then to the United States. His accomplishments in the U.S. include two national titles. In recent years Roman competes less but has gained fame as a video author, making world-class knowledge accessible for everyone.
Grandmaster Alex Lenderman learned to play the game at the age of ten, was an expert at twelve, National Master at thirteen, International Master at sixteen and a Grandmaster at nineteen years old. A gold medalist, scoring an incredible 9-of-11 score, at the World Youth Championship Under-16 in 2005. Alex's videos let students in on the secrets of how to learn and improve at the GM level.
He started to play chess at the early age of 4! He was coached by his brother, IM Alex Mikhalevski. While in school, he won innumerable championships of Belarus and competed in youth events with Kramnik, Svidler, and Shirov. In 1991 Victor immigrated to Israel, where he won two Israel Junior Championships. Skipping ahead of many great accomplishments to January 2008, Victor achieved his peak rating of 2632 and was placed 92nd. In 1989 Victor started coaching and his students won medals in the World and European Youth chess championships. Mikhalevski was awarded the IM title in 1993 and the GM title in 1996. In 2013 Victor published his first book Grandmaster Repertoire 13- The Open Spanish. His videos demonstrates the secrets to his brilliant attacking play.
In 2004 Timur became the youngest-ever chess grandmaster from Asia at age 16. Timur was a part of the University of Texas at Brownsville's Chess Team from August 2005 to August 2006 where he helped the University obtain its first National Collegiate Chess Championship. He is the winner of many international chess events. Timur is a blindfold specialist and holds the record for most blindfold games played at once!
International Master Jacek Stopa, originally from Poland, started playing chess at the age of 8 after randomly buying a chess set on a winter vacation. His father taught him how to play and he soon became addicted. Jacek earned his International Master title at age 18 and was the European Team Chess Champion in Solving Chess Problems in 2008. He has developed into a very effective chess instructor over the last six years, helping many young chess players reach their maximum potential.
Originally, from New Jersey, GM Mackenzie Molner graduated from NYU with a Bachelor's Degree in Romance Languages, with a specialty in Spanish (he also speaks German, French and Russian). Mac considers himself a Professional Chess Player/Coach. His lessons show great examples of his attacking play and creativity in the opening.
Women's Grandmaster Camilla Baginskaite learned to play chess from her father at the age of eight in her home town of Vilnius, Lithuania. She earned the title of Women's Master at the age of 15, and went onto win the Girls Under 20 World Championship. She has competed in a total of seven chess Olympiads between Lithuania and the United States. She is a former U.S. Women's Champion and continues to play at the highest levels of chess in the U.S. for women while maintaining her family life and teaching chess.
This is the official account for all Chess.com/TV Video Archives! Under this video author listing, you can find all the recordings of your favorite ChessTV Shows! PogChamps, Speed Chess Championships, Pro Chess League broadcasts, elite Super-GM Tournament coverage and more!
Since his arrival in the United States in 1989, GM Alex Yermolinsky has won numerous major swiss events including the World Open and U.S. Open multiple times. He was the U.S. Champion in 1993 and 1996. Alex is the author of "The Road to Chess Improvement." These days he's more interested in online chess media. He specializes in breaking down tricky endgames.
Considered one of "the" premier chess trainers in America, Chess.com is very have Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov on its list of prestigious video authors. GM Kaidanov's list of accomplishments includes first-place finishes in the World Open and US Open. A certified FIDE Senior Trainer, his reputation as a chess coach precedes him internationally. Gregory currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife Valeria and their three children.
Alisa Melekhina is a FIDE master with one International Master Norm. She has represented the US in numerous World Youth and Junior Championships, frequently placing in the top 10. She won the gold medal for her performance in the 2009 Women's World Team Championships in Ningbo, China.
IM and WGM Rusa Goletiani is a three-time World Junior Champion. She is originally from the country Georgia but has lived in the U.S. for years. Shortly after arriving in New York, she won the Continental Women's Championship, and in 2005 was U.S. Women's Champion. She has represented the U.S. three times at the Chess Olympiad. The most successful trip was in 2008, when her team won the bronze medal and she won an individual silver medal. Rusa has taught chess for 13 years and in 2006 she co-founded the Westchester Chess Academy, where she teaches kids of all ages.
When in 1985 Greg Serper was invited to the famous Kasparov-Botvinnik school, he was really inspired by Kasparov's story. Garry insisted that he was destined to become the 13th World Champion since he was born on April 13. Since Greg was born on September 14 he saw it as a very good omen. Alas, this great sign was enough only to tie for first in the World Junior Championship (1988) and win the European Junior Championship (1989), World Open (1999) and a bunch of national and international tournaments. These days Greg teaches chess full time, writes a weekly column for Chess.com, and is proud to have dozens of National and State Champions among his students.
GM Steven Zierk won the 2010 World Under 18 Championship with 9.5/11, a full point ahead of his nearest competitor. He has taught over half a dozen students: one achieved 5th in the 2010 World Under 10 Championship and 2nd in the 2012 World Under 12 Championship, and another later earned the IM title.
Maurice Ashley is the first and only Jamaican born Grandmaster. A celebrated chess author, commentator and motivational speaker - Ashley is known world wide as a true ambassador for the game. Recently, his efforts involve co-founding the Millionaire Chess tournaments being held in Las Vegas, and he currently serves as a Director's Fellow at the Media Lab at MIT
Rashad was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, the same city as Garry Kasparov. He has won many international tournaments and he obtained the title of International Grandmaster in 2007. He was champion of Azerbaijan in 2009. Rashad trained the Azerbaijan Youth Chess Team for more than six years. He also worked with many famous grandmasters and helped them to improve opening lines, including Vugar Gashimov. Since 2009 he lives in New York. Most of the teams that he has trained took first and second places at National Championships .
Tania Sachdev is an International Master and plays for India. She has won over 20 medals for the country in the junior categories. She has won the national women's championship twice, is a former Asian Women's Championship champion and a bronze medalist at the Olympiad in 2012. She has been conferred with the prestigious civilian award for Sports in India, the Arjuna Award. She's well known for her chess commentary work from the World Championship and Millionaire Chess events.
Born June 13th 1968, Ivan learned chess from his father in 1974 (age 6). He achieved his peak FIDE rating of 2706 in January 2004, and hung around the top twenty in the world for numerous years, including a high spot of number 12 in the world. A Grandmaster since 1987, Ivan has authored many chess books, out of which 'Winning Chess Middlegames' and 'Sacrifice & Initiative' were acclaimed best sellers.
Born up in the far north of Russia in the city of Arkhangelsk (the same as in the variation of the Ruy Lopez!), GM Nadezhda began playing at the age of seven. Their first coach was the local chess teacher Vladimir Popov. Later, she also worked with the legendary GM Igor Zaitsev, who was a second of Karpov. She then trained with GM Yury Dokhoian who assisted Kasparov for many years. Her best chess achievements are: two-time Olympic champion (2010 and 2012), three-time Women's European Team Champion (2007, 2009, 2011), two-time medalist in European Individual Women Championships (2005, 2007), and a Russian National Women's Champion (2008).
GM Bryan Smith grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Some of his accomplishments include first place in the 2008 National Chess Congress, 2009 National Chess Congress, 2010 Philadelphia International, and 2011 Limpedea Cup. He was a weekly columnist on Chess.com for several years Bryan is the first-ever Grandmaster from Alaska! He also creates many of the lessons Chess.com and its scholastic site, ChessKid.com.
April 25 is actually "Elliott Liu Day" in San Diego County! The young FIDE Master from San Diego earned that special distinction by winning the 2005 U.S. Cadet Championship, 2006 Pan-American Games U18, 2 IM norms, and playing in one U.S. Championship and three World Youth Championships.
Grandmaster Maxim Dlugy is well known as a Rapid Chess specialist. Formerly ranked #1 by the World Blitz Chess Association, he is regarded by many as one of the best blitz (both over the board and online) players of all time. The World Junior Champion in 1985, Dlugy's accomplishments are many both as a player and trainer.