ColinStapczynski

Hello! I am the Director of Written Content for Chess.com and a coach. I have the best job on the planet  

Company Contact:

• Email: colin@chess.com
• Phone: 1 (800) 318-2827
• Address: PO Box 60400 Palo Alto, CA 94306

Here are some of my articles and player profiles:

Top 10 Best Chess Players of All Time

5 Dirty Tricks Grandmasters Use

What If Fischer Had Played Karpov in 1975?

Top 10 Chess Books

Top 5 Historical Chess Set Designs

What If Caruana Had Beat Carlsen in 2018?!

Bobby Fischer

Anatoly Karpov

Jose Raul Capablanca
Mikhail Botvinnik

Ulf Andersson

Alexei Shirov
Anish Giri
Alireza Firouzja

I have been a Chess instructor since 2001 and have worked with hundreds of students in all age ranges (from 7 to 70+). I have the most experience working with those in the 1000-1800 skill range and specialize in creating opening repertoires, positional understanding, and endgame technique. 

Needless to say, my training sessions will be tailor-made to fit your specific needs and address your areas of growth. 

As a young adult, I worked with GM Gregory Kaidanov and GM Alexander Wojtkiewicz. I have also had the pleasure of working with GM Alexander Yermolinsky and IM Cyrus Lakdawala.

I achieved the USCF Expert rating in 2002, and have many chess accomplishments:  

-1997 Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess championship 1st place K-12 section

-1998 US Nationals 6th place JV Section

-1998-2000 Multiple State Championships (KY)

-1999 All America Cup 2nd place Blitz tournament

-2011 US Amateur West 1st place Blitz tournament

-2019 October Chess.com Coach of the Month

Student references are available upon request, don't hesitate to ask! English is my native language, and I have flexible hourly rates for students of any age. Feel free to contact me with any questions