Big Announcement!

Dear chess friends,

I have some big news to announce - however, it's not what you may think

If you've read some of my previous posts, or watched some of my Youtube videos, you will probably know that I retired from competitive chess play in early 2019, to focus more on coaching. 

I don't have plans to return to tournaments in the near future, but the news I have may be even more exciting for you. 

I share this news in my new Youtube video below: 

For those who prefer to read than watch, here it is:

I'm now accepting private students again!

However, I'm looking for some specific things from students:

- I'll only be working with students from Australia, as historically, I've generally enjoyed working with Australians the most; 

- I'm primarily interested in helping those of you who are striving to reach a 1600+ Elo (this comes to about 1700 blitz or 1800 rapid on Chess.com, in case you don't have an over-the-board chess rating). 

- To continue working with you, it's important that you are passionate about chess, attentive during the lessons, and that we both enjoy the lessons (as we learn the most when we also have fun). 

This is a limited offer, as I will only be working with up to 10 private students. I've already had a few of the weekly slots fill up before writing this post, so if you are thinking this may be for you, I would highly recommend getting in early, so that you don't miss out. 

I stopped checking my Chess.com messages a long time ago due to 95% of them being spam, so the best way to contact me is:

Email: illingworthchess@gmail.com

Facebook (direct message): https://m.me/max.illingworth.16 

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you a free sample from my most recent course, 'Crush Sub-1800s With 1.e4', so that you can get a feel for my coaching style and how I like to explain things. (For those who prefer videos to text, go to my Youtube video above and click on the channel icon to be redirected to my free training videos there). 

I have added the PGN files here for convenience, while you can watch the videos of me explaining these moves via. the hyperlinks above.

Chapter 1 - Scotch Gambit With 4...Bc5

Study 1 - Black Plays 5...dxc3