hey, this one really helps. He's not like the most of the other chess coaches, who usually try to get the money and run away without really making sure that their students have learnt or even understood anything at all. Give him a chance and he will definitely find the talent for chess in you and develop it in no time! He actually did so with me for which I am really thankful to him....

 Clevar, helpful and briliant chess player, trainer and friend.

 Future world champion !

 Hes lessons are just what y need !

 have fun

Great guy, professional coach, as you all know the good teacher must be a good person too!

He revived my motivation to become better in chess, something really hard, i hope that as a trainer-student team we'll succeed! Enjoy!

This man is the one you need to be your tutor! His teaching services are simply perfect and his lectures are very really high quality ones and everything is well considered till the last detail! :)

hi

hi FM Lilov!!

I am excited to see you on this website as well and as I see you are getting more and more popular as one of the best chess tutors on the internet! Though, we haven't talked for a couple of months I want you to know that your intructive lectures really helped me heighten my overall level of play, thus turning me from a weak class player into a chess expert (>2000 ). Well, as I see, people at chess.com are wildly interested in your many abilities as a chess trainer, so I'd like to submit my reference on the approaches you used while teaching me this not so easy chess theory in the near past, so that the chess players who cursorily glance over your profile and other people's comments and then close the page, and continue to wonder why they keep making so many foolish and sometimes not so foolish mistakes while playing, understand what they will forfeit after leaving your personal page underexplored once again!

Well, FM Lilov actually has taught chess for much more time than his age may suggest. I can guarantee that he does his job, sometimes even much better than the super-grandmasters in the Chess Base lectures do! His approach to teaching aspiring chess players is somehow unique compared to the widespread methods of giving lectures. The first and most important thing is that he always tries to get to know with each of his students as much as possible, to perceive the subtleties of their characters and to find the best way and the most optimal kind of material that the particular student will be ready to perceive at a given stage of their chess career. What I want to emphasize on, is that his lectures and overall teaching (since he is available for the questions of his students any time) are ultra-personalized - a feature that makes his lectures have a great impact on his students abilities as chess players.

On the other hand, his teaching style is very good and convenient for all that have ever enjoyed his lectures. His assiduous and unhurried manner of lecturing helps the listeners comprehend every single detail of what he is talking about and most importantly truly understand the basic ideas in a given position or opening. You will never need to read through the lecture material over and over again desperately trying to remember why all of those arrows are pointing at a particular square ;) You will surely remember what he'd said immediately after a certain position appears again in front of you, since the lecture had beenvery interesting to you, presented in such a way that you'd never got absent even for a while - an hour and a half...

Well,that man is an excellent player and friend,but also he is and perfect coach and psychologist and one of the most progressive Bulgarian players of all times.He have read a hundred of chess books and is having аn impressive knowledge about all phases of chess art.

Good Luck to one of future Top GM!

I just had my 4th lesson from Valeri.

After I've send him a few of my games, he came up with a complete plan for me to improve my chess, tailored to my needs and common mistakes. All of the lessons I had so far were very well prepared and useful.

I played a game last week, and although I didn't remember much from the lessons at that time, I noticed I was playing differently, played stronger in the center and eventually won the game. I would have played much more defensive towards the center in the past. This proofs to me that the lessons are very useful.

Valeri is like a true chess coach to me, not just somebody that analyses your games. I hope to have him as a coach for a long time. Having a high rating doesn’t automatically make you a good chess teacher. It requires other skills also, which Valeri definitively has!

Highly recommended!

I just had my third lesson with Valeri, and I wanted to provide some feedback.

In short, I cannot say anything apart from great things about Valeri. Just to name a few:

-          He is very knowledgeable, dedicated and willing to have you learn;

-          He is absolutely open to feedback, and reacts on it immediately, so adapting himself to your needs;

-          He is always constructive and never destructive;

-          His English is exceptional, so no problems in understanding and following the lessons;

-          He is very structured and organized, and after every lesson he will send you an mp3 file with the recording of the lesson, for you to replay it at a later stage and go through the most critical parts;

-          He is available on Skype basically the whole day (and good part of the night) and he will reply to your queries almost instantly;

-          He never limits himself to the “canonical hour” of lessons, but always stretches it by 15/20 minutes;

-          Last but not least, his prices are more than reasonable: considering his high level, you can have a private lesson for the cost of a pizza and a beer, just impossible to complain about it!

 The only (slight) criticism I could make, just to show some objectivity :-) is that, at least with me, he is a little bit over-estimating my skills and current level, so probably some things tend to fly “over my head”: I am sure this is just due to the fact that we are at the beginning, and he is giving me more credit than I deserve!

As a last comment, which hopefully will help some of you: I learnt that there is a huge difference between a computer-done analysis and an analysis done by a good player like Valeri, not even a point in comparing the two. If you don’t feel like going for chess lessons, but still want to improve, I strongly suggest you chose the “Game Analysis” option: it is really cheap, exceptionally high quality, and if you regularly review your losses in this way, you will definitely improve, by understanding where your weak points are and working on them on your own. The suggestion is to send Valeri the game you want to be annotated, with a comment on every single move, explaining him why you did that move; this way, he will be able to understand your reasoning and correct the problems.

Hope this helps some of you to decide!

Andrea

For Valeri, I can say that pedagogy is his second nature. More extensive and detailed lessons than his can't be found anywhere. He doesn't simulate teaching for the sake of taking people's money as most other chess coaches actually do, but he enjoys teaching and never spares his time and efforts to prepare the best lectures. As if an artist painting a picture. Apart from chess, I have noticed that he has  a very temperate and mature personality for his age. Wish him success and many students!

I just took my fifth lesson with Valeri, and what can I say? He has been an excellent teacher so far.

I remember right after my first lesson with him I jumped right into a game and found that I was playing very differently. I was able to exploit the things he taught me that lesson and I won convincingly.

He is very organised, after every lesson he sends you an mp3 file of the lesson, and once he even gave me a free e-book to help me improve my skills. Also, occasionally he has gone 10-30 minutes past the hour limit in order to help me learn something new. This is definitely a plus.

I wish him the best of luck in his future chess endeavours!

Valeri is a trainer that is really there for you. He is very friendly and his lessons never get boring. He is not only improving your play but also stimulating your pleasure. Everything looks really professional, from his website up to the well prepared training lessons. He honestly is there to train students , not to easily get some money and run off. He always has time with emails and is most of the day available on skype for questions and help. His explanations are clear and really interesting and he always has suggestions. I'm still his student and I'll think he is an excellent trainer for guys who are really interested in understanding chess more and improving their play. The best coach I had so far.

Valeri Lilov probably has the best deal for chess lessons on the
net! He teaches in a very clear logical style that is easy to follow.
He answers questions and goes over ideas you have which are not
correct and does a great job at explaining why that is the case. Often
he has gone over the allotted time for the lesson just to answer some
questions I had. He is also interested in your improvement and tracks
your progress through your games, offering suggestions on how to
improve even further and goes over weaknesses with themed future
lessons. He is also outstanding at opening preparation, offering plans
and ideas you can use in the middle game to obtain great positions. He
has greatly improved my chess game, and I always look forward to his
lessons.

Carson Day

Made a fine job of analysing a bunch of my games. I learned alot. Will certainly make use of his services again. He offers an excellent price too :-)

Very clear, precise, thorough instruction, that gets to the heart of your chess problems. He really cares about your progress too and makes sure that you understand what he teaches. A FIDE master, running his own chess instruction website at 17! Incredible.

Like night follows day your chess will improve! 

Tiger has been teaching my 13-year old son for the past month, and he's really enjoying the experience. Tiger makes the lessons fun and instructive for him by analyzing real tournament games, breaking down the major principles into succinct points, and providing real-world examples and enforce them. We highly recommend him.

For my birthday , my parents got me a lesson with Mr. lilov, I have enjoyed his lessons very much. He talks at a good pace and explains very well as he goes a long. He is well prepared with his lessons and I would recommend him to anyone!

Tiger hones right in on your weaknesses like a fighterjet hones in on major military targets.  He noticed recurring themes in my games such as not properly preparing the attack ( having enough pieces to support and maintain constant threats and pressure to keep my opponent from effectively countering my threats) and timing. He is very detailed, thorough, and well prepared.  Excellent Teacher.

Valeri Lilov is a very good chess trainer.I had a few sessions with him and will continue his training.

He has not only a superb knowledge, he can also share it. So you will get a clear analysis and very helpfull ways to increase your chess abilities.

I can only recommend to take training sessions with him. It will help you.

valeri lilov is an exelent coach, have a few lessons with him and enjoy it alot,can already see my game improve fast.His way of teaching is brillient and put alot of effort in his lessons to make sure u understand.Will recommend him to anyone, his fantastic chessplayer!

Valeri have been giving me weekly lessons for almost four months now. He have proved himself to be a GREAT teacher with a positive energy and a very good personality. I am always looking very much foreward to his next lesson, and I have greatly improved my play since we started! He always gives much more than expected, and the material he provides to back up his lessons are excellent!

If you are looking for the best teacher online; Look no further!! Choosing Valeri is a move that deserves at least three exclamation marks !!!

He even gave a thematic introduction in the chess club where I am a member. Everybody agreed that it was an outstanding performance, and are indeed looking foreward to the next time we will have this opportunity!!!

All my best regards!!!

Clevar, Very good Teacher!

Great teacher!

Went over the games clearly and without confusion like other teachers.

Has great advice and tips.

Definitely will be taking more lessons from him.

Valeri is an excellent chess coach. He has in-depth understanding of the game and is able to explain basic principles (i.e. importance and fight for the center) with illustrative games and meaningful comments. He also helped me analyse some of my on the board games and identify errors or opportunities to improve my game. Overall he really helped my improve my understanding of the game and accordingly my rating.

Many thanks to him and I look forward to continue working with him.

Best Regards

We got a few chess lessons for my son from Valeri. My son's game has since improved, and he has also improved his ratings.

Valeri is a very strong chess player and an excellent coach. He is very passionate about teaching, and has helped my son with openings that are appropriate for his level. We highly recommend him.

He is an outstanding chess coach- in my opinion about him after first lesson ....

He explain very well, also like to talk a lot ( about chess of course ) , and this is awesome  , considering that many chess coach,  just put a diagram and tell student to think and make a move. But he explained everything so clear that its impossible not to understand :) I was almost giving up on getting stronger in chess, but after taking some lessons with him, I am getting  the new vision of chess and made me eager to play better...Continuously still having him as coach ..... 

There are many great chess players but only very few who are equally adept at the art of teaching chess. Valeri is one of them. Valeri's teaching methods are very effective and he explains all concepts in a simple yet formalised manner, whilst retaining the rigor and comprehensiveness one would expect from a world class coach. He has a strong grounding in chess pedagogy. No matter what question you ask Valeri, he has a detailed and logically laid out answer, fully consistent with the rest of his teachings.  His enthusiasm for teaching chess is very evident in his lessons.

His lessons are further supported by specific action plans, exercises, examples and pointers to other resources that Valeri gives in order to train the concepts covered in the lessons and to assess progress.

From a practical standpoint, Valeri is flexible in his approach and accommodating with respect to lesson lengths, timings, changes and doing a lesson at short notice. He is also very accessible online at pretty much all times and responds to queries. He comes across as much wiser and mature than his age might suggest and is very professional.

I have no hesitation in recommending Valeri to anyone who is looking for a high quality chess coach.

My comments are based on around 25 lessons over the last 4 months. 

What can I add to the praise already on this page concerning Valeri?  Not much, except that it is all completely warranted.  Valeri teaches in a simple, easy-to-understand manner.  Even the most difficult concepts become crystal clear through Valeri's teaching.  My game became infinitely stronger after just one lesson with him, and I will certainly retain his services again and again.  How could I not?  He knows his stuff, is not overpriced, and is the most delightful person to talk to.  Valeri's demeanour and personality are his greatest assets - skill is worthless if you can't "coach".

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i have had only one lesson with Valeri and i already am looking at chess in a different way! his instruction is intuitive, thorough, and very comprehensive. he is very friendly and generous as well!!.....we had to reschedule a lesson one day because he had software issues, so he sent me two of his lectures (1 hour each) for free and sent his most sincere appologies. how many coaches would do that? Valeri is my 1st and only coach for chess, and by bieng so pleased with his instruction, i wont have anyone else!! and what better mentor to have than a FIDE master? i very highly recommend him for ANYONE who want to be a better chess player, regarless of skill level or ability. on top of all that, his prices are more than reasonable! i can have a lesson with him cheaper than my girlfriend and i can go to a movie! how can you go wrong? serious about getting better? have Valeri Lilov as your coach, you will NOT regret it at all! thank you Valeri!!!                                                  

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After about 2 months working with Valeri he thinks my rating went up approximately 200 points from about 1800 to 2000 even though I wasn't doing much extra study outside of our lessons. He explains key concepts in a very straight forward and easy-to-understand manner.

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I dont know him as a teacher but Mr.Lilov is an AMAZING chess player, I have studied his games before and now I am playing him, he is very good indeed.

If you are looking for an excellent chess coach, I highly recommend this young man.  His knowledge is impressive, his analysis is thorough, and his advice is enlightening.  He also packs a TON of information into his lessons and obviously spends a great deal of time preparing.  Don't let his age fool you my friend, he is a far superior teacher than many adults could hope to be.  Also, the fact that he is in Bulgaria is hardly an issue.  He works with my schedule and makes excellent use of technology such as Skype and Playchess for instruction.

Really, I can't say enough good things.  I'm looking forward to more lessons with him.

I was a little hesitant to start lessons with FM Lilov, but in the first minutes it became clear that his lessons were exactly what I was looking for.  He is clear, enthusiastic, understanding, and above all, a wonderful instructor.  Highly recommended!

I took a couple of lessons with FM Valeri Lilov, while I still didn’t know much about him. Before the first lesson, I was impressed to get a wealth of information and support on how the sessions will be organized, what methods he will be using to teach me, and how many different services and help he’s about to offer and give me, for free, right at the beginning without the need for me to commit to taking any more lessons than one. I was very impressed by the quality of his work!! All his efforts on me, to teach me were shining with high professionalism and commitment to provide me with the best service possible. I can reasonably claim that this is one of the best coaches out there!! I highly recommend him to you! Go Tiger!

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will you coach me?