GM Explains How Passion And Hard Work Make The Most Out Of Coaching

Our first Coach of the Month in 2025 is GM Danyyil Dvirnyy! Danyyil moved to Italy with his family in 2003, turned professional in chess before graduating high school, and obtained his grandmaster title in 2013 at the age of 22. That same year, he won his first Italian Chess Championship, winning a second one in 2015.

Danyyil has written two Chessable courses and is a Chess.com-affiliated coach. He has some really great advice for both coaches and students—this is an interview you'll want to read and digest.

At what age were you introduced to chess, and who introduced you?

I was around six years old when my dad taught me the rules... or at least that's what he says! My mom says it was her idea, so when I have to answer this question in her presence, I tell people it was her. Here, I can say that both my parents taught me the rules!

What is your first vivid memory from chess?

I remember getting destroyed by my grandpa when we were going to visit him with my family. Although it didn't happen that often, I enjoyed spending time with him and I tried my best on the chessboard against him. Some time later, when I was eight years old, I managed to beat him, and since then my chess career has skyrocketed!

Which coaches were helpful to you in your chess career, and what was the most useful knowledge they imparted to you?

I basically taught myself until I was at least 2450 Elo. I am a very curious person, and whenever I saw somebody implement an idea—especially with success against me!—I tried to make use of it myself. One of these variations is the Chekhover or Hungarian Sicilian, where White plays 4.Qxd4 instead of 4.Nxd4. One of my best games was a miniature I played using this line, almost the same way I lost when I faced it with Black before.

I had some people who helped me once I got the GM title, but nothing quite at the level of long-term coaching. 

I think the most important lesson I've learned from strong coaches is that hard work pays off and that you just have to focus on working on a daily basis. That's clearly universal advice, something you can apply to different fields. I can't say I implemented it fully in my own chess career, but I am working on applying it in some other aspects of life.

Hard work pays off and you just have to focus on working on a daily basis.

What is your favorite or best game you ever played?

As mentioned, one of my favorite games is the following one, where I beat a higher rated opponent by implementing the plan I struggled against myself. I basically played every move from home and barely had to calculate any variations.

How would you describe your approach to chess coaching?

I think something people misunderstand is thinking that an hour or two per week with a strong coach will make the difference. The bottom line is that the student has to do most of the work him or herself.

As a coach, I want to provide shortcuts and guidelines, so that the student can absorb information in a more efficient way. Nowadays Internet is full of free content, and it's easy for students to get lost and choose wrong priorities if they don't have proper direction.

Clearly, it's important to understand the student's strengths and weakness, but that's a standard procedure. A simple rule is that people should focus on their strong points, unless their weaknesses endanger their games. 

For example, if a player is strong tactically and scores brilliantly in chaotic and unclear positions, there is not so much need in improving positional understanding until the point where opponents are able to make use of those positional mistakes. Only then you should start covering those gaps.

I consider every student to be a specific case study, as each one has different needs. You can clearly identify some similarities between players of similar strength or playing style, but I think it's mandatory to provide each student personalized assistance. 

In general, I try to create a healthy, informal environment during my lessons, as I don't like being too formal, although in some cases you need to. When it comes to giving lessons to kids, you have to be as professional as possible.

What do you consider your responsibility as a coach and which responsibilities fall on your student?

GM Daniil Dubov once said that for beginners it is crucial to be passionate about the game. Nurturing that passion is basically the coach's only task with a beginner. If we look at the progress of people who eventually do become grandmasters, they generally had an enthusiastic coach who transmitted their passion to the student.

If we are talking about a student who is already a skilled player, but not yet a master, now the coach's main task is to teach the student how to work and what to work on. Once the student reaches the FM title, the coach should become kind of a student himself and try to work as if he was working for himself.

Another factor is how much time the coach and student plan to spend together. If it's a short-term (up to six months), then the coach's main task is specific advice—focusing on some part of the game, concrete openings, etc.—while in a medium term relationship, the coach is building the foundation for the player to improve on his own.

For the student it is much easier: Enjoy what you do and don't just do what your coach tells you to—do more!

What is a piece of advice that you give your students that you think more chess players could benefit from?

Be more arrogant on the board. People tend to be too timid and passive, therefore they don't believe in themselves as much as they should, missing many opportunities and not scoring enough.

Let's say on a scale from GM Peter Svidler-level objectivity to GM Vladimir Kramnik-level optimism, I would suggest staying somewhere around GM Magnus Carlsen: optimistic enough to win when winning chances arise, but always keeping in mind the objective evaluation of the position as well.

What is your favorite teaching game that users might not have seen?

I like using games where there is a lot at stake. World Championships games are great for this purpose. I enjoy publishing threads on X and when I manage to do so, people seem to like it. I think the most appreciated is the first match between Carlsen and GM Viswanathan Anand: 

Flashback on 2013 Anand - Carlsen match.

Thread of critical psychological moments. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tPPtX8Ezgp

— Danyyil Dvirnyy (@DDvirnyy) September 24, 2024

What I like the most is to "destroy the classics". I know that doesn't sound too good, but let me explain.

It is well-known that the number one sphere where people improved in the past decades is in defense. Nowadays, it is more difficult to win a game, because people know that oftentimes the situation is not as bad as it seems, thanks to the engine evaluations. Therefore, they defend more tenaciously, and succeed more often.

In the past people didn't really know that, and when you were facing Jose Capablanca, GM Akiba Rubinstein or other giants, it was easy to believe them and surrender without giving a proper fight. The famous Rubinstein–Takacs game has several flaws, and that's what I like to show my students. Don't believe everything you see and try to find as many resources as you can!

What is the puzzle you give students that tells you the most about how they think?

When I start working with a student, what I do is a general test, where I present several positions. They can be connected to general knowledge, tactical vision, positional understanding, intuition, endgames, and so on.

When it comes to the beginners, I love showing this position, trying to highlight the importance of the board vision. Find the mate-in-one for White!

Do you prefer to teach online or offline? What do you think is different about teaching online?

Both have advantages and disadvantages. Offline there is more nonverbal communication, and you can set up the pieces with your hands, which is something I was raised with and I prefer offline chess when possible. (Although I play a lot online!)

Danyyil teaching an in-person class in Italy (automated English subtitles are available in YouTube settings.)

Online things are more comfortable, especially for introverts. Sometimes people don't turn on their camera, and I accept that choice, and even if seems awkward. Another advantage of online is that all is recorded and you can (and should!) review what you have done.

Nowadays I rarely do offline lessons, as my students are from all over the world, but I enjoy both.

What do you consider the most valuable training tool that the internet provides?

There are many different tools, depending on the level.

For beginners I think Puzzle Rush is amazing. I do it a lot myself to stay sharp, but I am sure I would have been obsessed when I was growing up. We didn't have this kind of training, but some kind of antiquate version, maybe some standard puzzles, without any motivation. Puzzle Rush is dynamic and it forces you to do better every time.

For skilled players (1800+ Elo), I think the online databases are great. You can basically get a full repertoire and a bunch of training games of some strong player. I remember back in the days I did this with GM Georg Meier's Rubinstein French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3/Nd2 dxe4). The first tournament I played it in, my opponent spent 10 minutes deciding on 3.Nc3 or 3.Nd2 and then when I took on e4, he laughed at me!

For experts (2300+ Elo), cloud engines are amazing. You preserve the power of your own laptop and you can access super strong engines from wherever in the world if you have an internet connection. Nowadays engines are strong enough, so it doesn't make as big of a difference as it did before the 2018 AlphaZero revolution, but still if saves you time.