Hello everyone! My name is Aaron Grabinsky and I am currently a member of the 5-time(!) national champion collegiate chess team of Webster University. At the moment, I have all three IM norms and only need a few more elo points to make the International Master title. I have eight years of volunteer and professional teaching experience, and I enjoy working with students of all ages. I'm here for you and will do my very best to improve your chess!

In my lessons I tend to focus on positional understanding and tactical vision more than openings, however I will be more than happy to help strengthen your preferred opening! Endgames and game analysis are frequent, as well. My lesson plans are progressive and will be structured around your improvement. Besides the lesson plans listed below, I'm also available for training games at various time controls. Rates may vary. If you're interested in lessons, have a question, or would simply like more information, I may be reached at aarongrabinsky@gmail.com. You can also message me here on Chess.com, as well. Happy chess!

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1- hour private lesson - I will explain key positional and tactical concepts (within your preferred opening!) that you will be able to utilize immediately in your own games! We will go over the importance of pawn structure, endgames (this will be a big focus), piece play, dynamics, and how to form an effective middle game plan. These points will be developed in greater and greater detail as you improve! In chess, there is always more to learn! I would also like to see your games and review them in detail, pointing out important transitional moments, mistakes, and possible improvements.

$50.00

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30-minute introduction - I will play a few games with you, discuss your tournament history, goals (long-term and short-term), and where you feel your greatest strengths and weaknesses are. This allows me to get an idea of where you stand, and how I can best form a lesson plan tailored to your individual needs!

$25.00

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Here are a few of my tournament successes over the years in case you're interested!

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#30 out of 338 in the 2014 K-12 National Scholastic Championships with 5/7 and breaking into the National Master category (2200+ USCF)

#2 in the 2015 Oregon State Chess Championships with 7/9

#26 out of 116 in the U18 section at the 2015 World Youth Chess Championships with 6.5/11 and a rating performance of 2450

#2 (six-way tie!) in the 2016 Denker Tournament of High School Champions with 4.5/6

#17 out of 389 in the 2016 U.S. Open. First place in the master category with 7/9

#4 out of 33 in the 2016 North American Youth Chess Championships with 6/9

#15 out of 45 in the 2016 SPICE Cup with 5/9 and a rating performance of 2505

#1 in the 2017 Chicago Class Championships with 4.5/5

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One of my major accomplishments is drawing the blitz legend, GM Hikaru Nakamura (FIDE blitz 2865), with black on May 1st, 2017.

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My current ratings

FIDE

Standard - 2349

Rapid - 2260

Blitz - 2353

USCF

Standard - 2461.78

Quick - 2305.11

Blitz - 2423.90

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