PRIVATE INSTRUCTION

The Marshall Chess Club, as New York's center for chess learning, maintains a database of outstanding chess coaches who offer private instruction.

The instructors listed below are certified to conduct lessons on club premises with non-members. If you are interested in working with a particular instructor, or want more information about their rate or schedule, we encourage you to contact them directly.

*Please email Carlos Chavez with general questions. (To be considered for inclusion in our database, please complete the application here.)



FM Lawrence Chachere

LFChachere@yahoo.com
917-407-3376

Lawrence is a USCF Life Master from Chicago. He earned the FIDE Master title while working in Switzerland for 3 years before settling in New York. As a chess instructor, he specializes in opening line development and preparation, positional strategies, and endgames. He is the father of two active tournament players in middle school, and has taught students as young as 5 years old as well as adults. He has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois - Urbana, where he studied machine learning.

NM Alex Fikiet

afikiet1@gmail.com
860-576-0890

Alex Fikiet is a USCF Life Master with extensive experience teaching chess at both the adult and scholastic level. His past chess achievements include winning the Greater Boston and New England Open, as well as being a 3-time New England High School Champion. He is the current chess coach at Success Academy, and provides private coaching to a large variety of ages and skill levels.

Miguel Garcia

mgar6711@gmail.com
347-385-3658

Miguel is a USCF Expert and a National Arbiter. A native of Brooklyn, he learned Chess at age five and played in the Cities, States and National Scholastic Championships starting at age six. He was a National Champion as part of the IS 318 team and the Stuyvesant High School team. As a coach, he has eight years of experience. For the past four years has worked at three schools, including the famed PS 166 Manhattan Knights. He aims to share his passion for the game with his students and instill a “never give up!” attitude on and off the board.

NM Majur Juac

majurjuac@gmail.com

Majur Juac was born in Sudan and learned to play chess in a refugee camp in Kenya. He moved to the United States and became a National Master in 2011 (and a Life Master in 2017). For the past six years he has taught chess in class rooms, after school programs and as a private instructor. His aim is to teach students how to think for themselves. To Majur "thinking" is—after all—the art of chess. He centers his teaching on learning skills to attack the enemy king, when to break chess "rules," and how to creatively investigate the board.

GM Giorgi Kacheishvili

gkchess@hotmail.com

Giorgi Kacheishvili is a grandmaster from the Republic of Georgia and a two-time Georgian National Champion with a peak FIDE rating over 2600. He is the winner of many tournaments both in the US and abroad and has 20+ years of coaching experience in the US. Giorgi specializes in advanced students (1500+) up to grandmaster level. Among his students are multiple National Youth Champions. He focuses on the correct thinking process in chess.

GM Djurabek Khamrakulov

djurabekchess@gmail.com

Djurabek Khamrakulov is a Grandmaster originally from Uzbekistan. As a player, he is the winner of many international tournaments. His accomplishments include winning the Uzbek National Championship three times (2008, 2009, and 2013), tying for first place in the US Masters Tournament in 2018 and winning the Marshall Club Championship in 2019.

He has been coaching for more than 10 years and specializes in teaching intermediate students from 1400+ up to higest level. Djurabek focuses on professional growth from openings to endgames. He helps to improve the skills on how to consistently work intensively . There are numerous National and Continental Champions among his students!

NM Bahadur Khodzhamkuliev

bhodzhamkulyyev@gmail.com
917-826-4648

Bahadur learned to play chess when he was seven. In 2003, he placed second in the Turkmenistan U-16 Championship and then represented his country at the World Youth U-16 Olympiad in Turkey. Later that year he earned the National Master title. In 2007, he placed 3rd at the Kstovo Open in Russia. He moved to the United States in 2017. As a coach, Bahadur is result oriented and focuses mainly on helping students to understand their strengths and weaknesses. He brings passion and energy to every lesson, and has worked with over one hundred private students.

GM Irina Krush

irina.krush@gmail.com

Irina Krush is a seven time US Women's Chess Champion. In 2013, she became the first American woman to earn the Grandmaster title. She has been a member of the US Women's Olympiad team since the age of 14, representing the country in ten events. In 2004 and 2008 she helped the team earn historic silver and bronze medals, and won an individual silver medal at the most recent Olympiad in 2018. Irina has many years of teaching experience, with both private students and larger classes. She has taught across the US and enjoys sharing her passion for the game. She graduated from NYU in 2006 with a BA in International Relations.

IM Silas Esben Lund

silas.lund@gmail.com

Silas came to New York in 2017 and teaches chess privately and in schools. An International Master and author of seven chess books, his most recent work is Opening Simulator - King’s Indian Defence (Quality Chess, 2019). As a coach, Silas focuses on building students knowledge and then teaching them how to use that knowledge to make good decisions over-the-board. Although he enjoys writing on diverse topics, his expertise (and passion!) is undoubtedly the endgame. His blog can be found at: silasesbenlund.com.

GM Wojciech Moranda

wojciech.moranda@gmail.com

Wojciech is one of the top players in his native Poland. He earned the Grandmaster title in 2009 and was rated in the FIDE top 100 in rapid chess in 2018. He plays professionally in the German, Belgian, and Swedish leagues, and captains Wieża Pęgów in the Polish league and our very own NY Marshalls in the PCL! As a trainer, he works with the Polish National Youth Academy, the Polish National Female Team (2013), and runs an academy in Wroclaw. Wojciech puts special emphasis on improving his students’ thought-process and on providing flawless opening preparation. He trains students globally online.

NM Juan Sena

boobilongo@hotmail.com
347-543-5555

Juan is a USCF Life Master. Before coming to the United States, he was a National Youth Coach in the Dominican Republic. He has also worked as a Chess Instructor for Top Level Chess, The Browning School, Chess-in-the-Schools, and the Westbury School System on Long Island.

IM Michael Song

mjysong@gmail.com
929-969-1023

Michael is an experienced coach and player with over 8 years of coaching experience with students of all ages, ranging from 1400-2200. His most significant accomplishments as a player include winning gold in the North American and Pan-American Youth Chess Championships and bronze in the World Youth Chess Championship. He is also the author of the book "The Chess Attacker's Handbook" (Gambit, 2017).

As a coach, Michael likes to emphasize developing universally important chess skills, such as calculation, practical decision-making, and even how to win psychological battles. Many of his students have gone on to win several Canadian youth championships. Michael truly enjoys working with motivated & talented students determined to become strong masters.

Michael does both online lessons and in-person lessons in Manhattan. He graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2022 with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Finance.

GM Raven Sturt

chessmasterlessons@gmail.com

Raven has been playing chess for 23 years and teaching it for 17. As a player he is the 2011 National High School Champion, 2012 NY State Champion and a member of the 2012 All American Team. He achieved the coveted title of Grandmaster last July in the strong Serbian Open. Being self-taught he has experience in correcting thought patterns. He focuses on remedying a student's weaknesses through tailored lessons and a curated study plan. To date he has trained 3 students to master and 5 to expert.