The following coaches and tournament directors offer their services to Illinois chess players and clubs. Listings are free for ICA members (join or renew). “Affiliate” in a listing signifies an ICA Affiliate member; see the Affiliate List for more detail.
Being listed does not imply an endorsement from the ICA. Users are encouraged to check references and conduct background checks.
New listings — or updates — should be sent to youth@il-chess.org.
Coaches
- Mesgen Amanov, Grandmaster, 1711 Kendale Dr., Glenview IL 60025, gmmesgen@gmail.com, 773-817-1097
- Boris Avrukh, Grandmaster and Author, Co-Champion: 2014 Midwest Class. Hoffman Estates, private or group lessons, in-person or online. facebook.com/BorisChess, 847-337-4483, avrukhboris@hotmail.com
- Caveman Chess (Kevin Bachler, FIDE Master, FIDE Trainer, US Chess Professional Chess Coach (Level V)), Kevin_Bachler@cavemanchess.com, 224-985-5245, www.cavemanchess.com (Affiliate)
- Chess Ed (Alice Holt), aholt729@earthlink.net, 847-775-9906, www.chess-ed.com
- Chess Utopia (Frank Swindell), Grayslake, IL, frankieswindell@gmail.com
- Chess Weekend (Glenn Panner, US Chess Expert, US Chess National Chess Coach (Level 4)), glenn@chessweekend.com, 815-955-4793. Individual, group lessons, schools, or camps. Located in the SW suburbs. (Affiliate)
- International Educational and Cultural Services, Inc. (Mikhail Korenman, Willowbrook, IL), 785-906-0402, intecsus@yahoo.com, www.intecsus.org
- Joshua Flores, Squarehopper@gmail.com, 815-650-5960; @Squarehopperchesspro (Facebook and Instagram), @SquarehopperP (Twitter). Experience at a reasonable rate. (Affiliate)
- Kings and Queens Chess Club (Lead Coaches: Master Tamara Golovey, Leonid Bondar, Mila Finkelshtein), 709 Drae Court, Wheeling, IL 60090; (847) 778-5259, (847) 867-0116 or (847) 207-2819. pro.bridge@gmail.com, kqchessclub.com (Affiliate)
- Dejan “Max” Maksimovic, International Master, 20 years’ experience as a chess coach, available for private, group, school, college or university instruction, as well as online lessons, chessmaxusa@netscape.net, 224-822-3621, maxchampionsacademy.com
- Arjun Vishnuvardhan, International Master, imarjunv@yahoo.com, 224-392-6981
- Yury Shulman, Grandmaster, 2008 US Champion, Barrington, www.shulmanchess.com, chesswob@gmail.com, 312-375-7475
Tournament directors
- Bill Buklis, National TD, floor or back room, FIDE International Arbiter, scholastic or open, directing or organizing, bill@kingregistration.com. Owner and operator of King Registration.
- Erik Czerwin, Local TD, floor or back room, scholastic, open, or IHSA, ECzerwin@gmail.com, 815-904-1392
- Joshua Flores, Local TD, back and floor, experience in all event types — scholastic/opens, invitationals, round robins, ladders, etc. Available as an organizer as well. Squarehopper@gmail.com, 815-650-5960
- Glenn Panner, National TD, floor or back room, scholastic or open, plenty of experience with organizing events, willing to work with new or experienced organizers. glenn@chessweekend.com, 815-955-4793
- Maret Thorpe, US Chess National Tournament Director, FIDE NA, floor or back room (WinTD or SwissSys), scholastic, open or IHSA, directing or organizing, maret@maret-thorpe.com
- Stephen Plotnick, US Chess Local TD, rated or non-rated events, all-age or scholastic, full-service organizing with $1m / $2m liability insurance, steve@chessforthepeople.com, 224-248-8802
- Suzanne Sheridan, US Chess Local TD, floor or backroom, scholastic or open. Experience organizing and promoting events. Spanish speaker. ChessMomLyfe@gmail.com, 847-834-5631