Super GM Explains Chess Training In 15 Minutes

GM Ivan Sokolov, a former top-15 player in the world with a peak rating of 2706, is also one of the top chess coaches in the world. His individual students have included GMs Alireza Firouzja, Parham Maghsoodloo, and Jorden van Foreest, and he also led the 2022 Olympiad squad from Uzbekistan to a gold medal. 

Have you ever considered what it takes to become a top player like Sokolov or his students? Sokolov, who was profiled as the Chess.com Coach of the Month last November, recently sat down with Chessable to discuss the ins and outs of competitive chess training. The 15-minute crash course, titled "How to Train for Competitive Chess," begins with Sokolov asking, in his distinctive voice: "How much do you love chess?"

We encourage you to watch the entire thing, but we've also collected some of Sokolov's top insights. Check them out!

On The Role of a Coach: "The trainer is a catalyst. The player... is good because of himself, but you can speed up the process."

Sokolov explains how his own coach, GM Dragoljub Velimirovic, was able to help him go from a 2400 rating to a grandmaster within a year, and how things that might have taken Sokolov two years to learn on his own, Velimirovic could dispense in 30 days. When Sokolov became a grandmaster in 1987 at the age of 19, he was the youngest in the world at the time.

On Opening Preparation: When Sokolov coached GM Javokhir Sindarov's team in the 2022 Olympiad, Sindarov knew "very little, almost nothing about 1.d4 systems... Nowadays, 1.d4 [was] his main repertoire at the Candidates." Sindarov only began working on 1.d4 in the last year and half, rapid progress that a top player can only really be make in the era of computers, Sokolov notes.

On Physical Preparation: "If you don't pick up the habit when you are 20, you are not likely to pick it up when you're 40."

On Dealing With Losses: If a loss was "a product of me being stupid and not my opponent being smart," Sokolov recalls, "this was something I always had terrible problems dealing with." It's very important to "shake off" losses so that a bad game doesn't become a bad tournament, and to "approach a new game as a new game."

Approach a new game as a new game.
—Ivan Sokolov

On Puzzle Solving Versus Real Games: "The process of playing the game and finding solutions in the game, and the process of solving a puzzle, are not exactly the same." For that reason, puzzles are "not the most efficient way" to study chess.

On Improving Without A Coach: Recognizing "the pattern of mistakes you are making, and correcting them, without outside help is not going to be easy." You need a structured approach to truly improve, and while it can be done on one's own, it is easier with outside help.

On Deciding Whether To Try To Make A Career: "Chess has one advantage and one disadvantage: The advantage is you can play it for a very long time. The disadvantage is you can play it for a very long time... and you can fool yourself for a very long time."

The advantage [of chess] is you can play it for a very long time. The disadvantage is you can play it for a very long time!
—Ivan Sokolov

"It's a road I'm not saying you should not take, but I'm saying you have to be aware of the risk," he continues.

On Rating Inflation: Sokolov does not believe that rating inflation is a problem. "Somebody 2400 rated today is stronger than somebody rated 2400 rated 15 years ago... The theoretical knowledge of that person is much better... and calculation has also improved."

Sokolov also discussed the benefits of reviewing your opponent's games ahead of time, how to relax when necessary during a tournament, how competitive chess has changed from his playing days until now, and more. Don't miss it!

What is your favorite piece of Sokolov's advice? Watch the video and then let us know in the comments!