If I were a rookie, there are plenty of things a Chess coach could teach me: forks, pins, discovered attacks, sacrifices, and other ideas like protecting the king, controlling the center, avoiding pawn islands and preventing the opponent from having passed pawns, amongst other basic ideas.

But I am not a rookie anymore, and I'm not sure what a Chess coach could teach me other than openings, traps and end game calculations. Is the coach going to play against me and call all my blunders, which I could have seen on my own if I had paid more attention? Is he going to describe 10 move deep discovered attacks that I never would have seen on my own and, given the large number of variations, will probably never see again? Is he going to offer emotional support? Or is he going to teach me something that I can actually apply in all my games? If so, what?

If you have ever worked out at the GYM you know that at first your muscles start growing fast and after a while you hit a plateau. And you will need a coach to overcome the plateau, change your routine and move on advancing to a next level. Same thing happens when you are trying to get to a next level in chess. Some things you need to be taught and as you progress, the learned things become less technical so to say and more mental. People at A-Expert level think differently about a certain position then people at C level. And masters also have a different mindset. Even Garry Kasparov at his prime had a coach - Nikitin. Do you think Nikitin played better chess then Kasparov?  

do you have a coach now?

I'd like to get one, but I'm not sure how a coach will go about helping me improve my chess skills.

So you honestly think that your game is practically perfect in every way, and there's nothing useful you can work on? The only way you lose is by blundering through not paying attention and other than that in every possible situation your thinking techniques and knowledge of all key positions (IQP etc.) are as good as they can be?

My experience with a coach is that someone at the master level will be most helpful in helping you see strategic errors or in helping you with middlegame planning.  You can always find tactical oversights with Fritz or other software but strategic planning is most easily seen by a master's eye.  Endgame analysis, like openings and tactics, is easily enough done on your own.  How  to play well in the middlegame when there isn't a combination is where most of us need the most help.

Obviously not. That's why I want to know what a chess coach is going to teach me. I want to see a syllabus or something before I make a financial commitment.

in my oppinion any person who is a beter player then you or a choach will be able to teach you things you will finde difecult learning by yourself. having a smarter or higher rated player teaching you how to improve your game is very usfull and idviseble and as was already  said even kasparov had a personal choach keep that in minde

gl

Well it should be obvious then. A good coach will assess your weaknesses and work on them. It's that simple.

A good coach should inform you of what you'll be working on after you've sent them some of your games.

nuclearturley is right, a good coach will see what you do wrong over multiple games and get you to address the most sever flaws.  They will also be able to identify a training plan based on your level and weaknesses.  For instance I work more on tactics and endgames, less on strategy.  The latest thing he noticed is that I had poor bishop play, so I now I am working to correct that and use those pieces more correctly in the next tournament

"I'm done with Chess. Good Bye"

14th Feb 2010

"What's a Chess coach going to teach me? At my level, is it a waste of time?"

9th March 2010

Save your money, chess can't be learnt on a whim. In a month's time you'll probably be tearing up the forums on FlowerArranging.com.

Magnus Carlsen does not struggle with pins and forks; he also could thrash you half-asleep and blindfolded. Yet, he saw enough value in paying so much money for a chess coach that the amount is undisclosed (I have a hunch it's something in the range of 200,000 Euros).

Have you ever decided to go to a chess club? You may or may not find a coach there, but you will probably find strong players who will challenge you. You'll improve with strong competition, and someone is usually willing to go through a game with you.

Is chess coaching kind of like piano lessons?    I remember staying at a plateau with piano for a couple years WHILE taking lessons.  Then I finally wizened up and quit.   I didn't do team chess in highschool or anything like that, so this site is the first I've heard all this talk about coaches.  So I sort of giggled at first, trying to picture all of these coaches running around recruiting each other's top talent instead of jobsearching like they probably should be.   But now after reading this discussion I guess lots of people could probably benefit from coaching.  Covering the basics for those who need it and more specific goals for the experienced players.

Playing Chess online is much more convenient than OTB. I can't picture the board in my head and struggle finding squares, so I doubt OTB analysis will help much.

Well, here is something your coach can work on - you need to be able to analyze the position without moving pieces or even looking at them. I remember we used to make an excercise back in the days: the coach will set up a position, we look and memorize it for a minute or so. Than he clears the board and let us calculate. We discuss the strenght and weaknesses of each side and propose plans.

Do you in the middle of the day, away from the computer, remember the positions of your games in the slightest details? Do you think of moves you can play?

This is something a coach can help you.

I sometimes remember blurry images of parts of the chessboard where the action is at, but I lack the visual intelligence to picture with clarity the entire board or even parts of it in my head. If you know a coach who can make me more intelligent let me know :)

If it's any consolation, the coach won't have to give you advice on how to quit and make come-backs.

I think you would be well served in finding a chess club and playing OTB games/tournaments.  Competing against people that have played for years/decades longer than you and have a higher OTB tournament rating than you have on this site will expose you to sound new ideas that will help you determine where you can improve as a player. 

Yes, it is more convenient to play on this site or others as opposed to going somewhere and playing OTB.  However, I think you're going to find the quality level of play from seasoned OTB tournament players exceeds what you're probably getting at this site.  When you start playing people that are far enough above your level that making them "work for their win" is an achievement and moral victory unto itself, you'll have a clearer picture of what to do.  At that point, I think you'll know either that you can continue to sharpen your chess skills and improve your game through competition, or that it's time to look at spending some money on a coach to help you get your game to the next level.