GM And Coach On What You Can Learn When Looking Beyond The Engine

GM Valeriy Aveskulov earned that prestigious title of grandmaster at the age of 20, but largely walked away from competitive play when he was just 23, in order to focus on imparting everything he learned as a player in coaching professionally instead. In addition to being a part of the Chess.com Coaches program, Valeriy has converted his teaching abilities into several Chessable courses. His latest, the 50-Day Endgame Challenge, is out now and on sale.

Valeriy recently shared several of his coaching insights with Chess.com, including how he has had his students adjust to the age of strong chess engines, how his coaches growing up have influenced his own coaching, several of his favorite training tools, and much more.

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

My dad taught me when I was five or six years old.

What is your first vivid memory from chess?

I played well in a local kids' chess tournament, which resulted in an article about me in the local newspaper. There was even a picture of me with a chess book over a chessboard. (It was Step by Step by Zhuravlev.) Someone brought the newspaper to my class, and everyone saw me in it. The title of the article was "A wonderkid? No, just Valeriy!"

I now understand that it was just a simple publicity stunt by my parents, but it was the first bright moment in my life related to chess.

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

Many chess players helped me, but only two of them were professional coaches. The first was FM Nikolay Gutsko, who was from a city ten kilometers away from where I was born. He coached many titled players and was like a chess father to almost everyone in our region.

The second was the legendary GM Gennadi Pavlovich Kuzmin from Lugansk. He coached GMs Maia Chiburdanidze, Ruslan Ponomariov, and many others.

I can hardly recall any specific knowledge from my childhood. I just played—and apparently wasn't the best at following my coaches' advice! However, when I became a coach myself, I had many flashbacks to the classes with Kuzmin. For example, he loved Alexander Alekhine's games and taught me that Alekhine excelled at understanding opening principles and taking advantage of an opponent's mistakes. Alekhine was rarely the first person in the game to break opening principles first. It was usually a reaction to an inaccuracy on the part of his opponent. Now, I often return to this idea in my lessons.

Has Kuzmin's coaching style influenced your coaching style at all?

After our lessons, I was always excited to see his ideas, and I had a strong desire to play like him. For many years, however, I was unable to demonstrate anything that Kuzmin would be proud of. Still, I often ask myself if Gennadiy Pavlovich would like my ideas from the game or lesson.

Reflecting on your question, I suddenly realized that Kuzmin taught me the art of sacrificing for the initiative. He had a subtle sense of the power of the pieces and often used positional sacrifices to dominate his opponent's pieces. I also like this trick now and often demonstrate it to my students, teaching them to recognize the relative power of the pieces.

What is your favorite or best game you ever played?

I have to say this sacrificial attack I played in 2023.

How would you describe your approach to chess coaching?

I prefer explaining the conceptual aspects of chess over, say, the specific nuances of the Najdorf Sicilian. Let me illustrate my point with an example.

The modern engines are so strong that they can defend almost any poor position. This is why many often believe they played a good game and the mistake was made only when the engine changes the evaluation. That's why I especially love the moments when, in analyzing a student's game, we discover the root of a problem, such as an incorrect exchange, weakening a square, or overlooking a factor of activity. In such moments students begin to look at chess from a new angle.

I especially love the moments when, in analyzing a student's game, we discover the root of a problem.

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

We live in the era of Stockfish, which is why the coach's main responsibility is to teach students how to work with—or, I would say, "live with"—the engine. Most players, especially young ones, rely solely on engines. They don't even believe the coach if the engine does not support his opinion!

When studying openings, these players prefer the first lines of the engine. They know very little about the experience of previous generations. There is a long list of the related problems, which change based on the specific player. So, the coach should react to them when they appear. The engine can help players become stronger, or it can ruin their future in chess!

The engine can help players become stronger, or it can ruin their future in chess!

Players have a much bigger responsibility because a smart player can improve without a coach (although it might be faster with a coach). However, a smart coach won't help much if the player thinks the coach will do everything for them. The students should work a lot independently, study chess in different directions—endgames, classical games, practicing the openings, and many others—not be passive, ask questions, follow the coach's recommendations, and so on.

They should also value their time during training sessions. There are so many possible distractions in the chess world, such as ultrabullet chess, arenas, endless streams, and funny, pointless videos. The player who wants to achieve real results in chess should aim to do so in the shortest possible time!

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

All of your pieces should actively participate in the game. Many people forget this simple principle.

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

Here GM Peter Leko outplayed one of the world's strongest players thanks to an amazing knight on c4. Starting from move 23, GM Fabiano Caruana could do almost nothing. He seemingly misjudged how bad his position might be after White grabs this outpost.

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

Usually, I can understand how a student thinks after seeing a few of his or her games and talking to him or her. One session might be enough for that. But I still have an interesting position to answer this question:

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

Ideally, of course, offline, but we live in the 2020s, and everyone, myself included, is too busy to travel to the coach's or student's location.

Some coaches of the month have preferred online, even with all else equal. Could you share a couple reasons you prefer offline, maybe in terms of how it has noticeably helped a student in the past?

I'm a representative of the old school. For me, direct contact with a student is much appreciated, and I really regret that I rarely get a chance to work with someone face-to-face. Seeing a student offline gives the coach an opportunity to better understand a student's emotions, set a stronger connection with a student, and to work more effectively—it is easier to keep concentration when you sit near each other!

The same is true about the group lessons. They become more interactive when everyone is in the same room with each other.

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

I can't choose just one! The internet provides us with plenty of great tools.

1. Online playing platforms like Chess.com offer a unique opportunity to play against stronger opponents. We can practice new variations and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, facing stronger players online helps us feel less intimidated during over-the-board encounters.
2. Videos of the best players and coaches offer insight into their thought processes and approaches to the game. When I was a kid, it was a big deal to meet a GM in the hallway of the chess club.
3. Endless tactical collections adopted for our level.
4. And, of course, the recent novelty: opening files from titled players, including even the best ones. With these courses, one can become as good in the openings as strong GMs. Of course, after that, there are a middlegame and an endgame to play, but years ago, the GMs had a huge advantage in the opening area.

Which under-appreciated chess book should every chess player read?

I would argue that chess players today don't enjoy reading books about the games of the best players. So, without naming any titles, I'll name the category: games collections. Reading the comments of one of the players is much more informative than just watching a game on Chessbase!