In 2022 many Ukrainians were forced to become refugees. In the same way, my family and my student Svyatoslav Bazakutsa with his mother did. That's why it is a special pleasure to report on his last achievement. He became the European champion U-14! Seeded only 22nd, he scored an amazing 8/9 and gained 165 Elo points. Here I would like to thank Dmitro Semenov and his Chess School for the excellent group classes that provided Svyatoslav with good fundamentals for stellar achievements!
Svyatoslav performed excellently at the 2023 European Individual Chess Ch. in Vrnjacka Banja (Serbia). He scored his first IM norm. Similar achievements are expected soon.
Sebastien Halfhide (Nederlands) won the U-12 section of the Gibraltar Junior International 2013.
FM Roberto de Abreu (SAR) got the FM title while sharing 1st-2nd U16 in the African Championship 2012.
Viktor Korennoi (RUS) from Moscow had two excellent performances in two of the biggest Russian open tournaments: Chigorin Memorial 2017 and the Moscow Open 2018. As the result, he gained 80 ELO points and crossed 2300. Good job, Victor!
I started to take lessons from Valery in July 2017. In about half a year I gained 80 rating points within just 2 tournaments and became a FIDE Master. Valery provides a thoughtful and thorough approach to chess study. He has tons of materials on different openings, middlegames and endgames. If you work properly you'll learn how to play specific positions and recognize patterns which a computer would never help you to understand: two bishops, bishop vs. knight, knight vs bishop, exchange sacrifices, classical endings, and many others. His brilliant pawn endgames database are worth special noting.
Valery is flexible in his training and can help you find the most comfortable way to study chess. So, if you're stuck on some level and can't make progress, I can wholeheartedly recommend you to start working with Valery.
NM Bhaskar Gupta (India) began serious study with me in September, 2011. He made quick progress in both mastery and rating which increased from 1933 to 2195 in less than one year!
Justin Wang (b. 2005, USA). In 2015 Justin took the bronze medal on the World Junior Championship U-10. In 2017 he was even closer to winning the U-12 section of WC but a loss in the last round left him in fourth place. At 13 Justin has completed the requirements to obtain the IM title! All three norms were scored before the last round. That makes this achievement even more remarkable!
Dmitriy Kushko (b. 2004, Ukraine). Co-winner of 2018 Myrhorod open. At 14 he got the title of National Master at the semi-final of the 2018 Ukrainian Ch. Placed third in the Ukrainian National Championship U-20 and became National Blitz Champion U-20.
FM Francois Oberholzer (SAR) In less than a year my South African rating went from 1756 to 1954. ● 3rd in the National Championship U-16 in 2010. ● Won the U-18 Champion of RSA in 2011. ● Finished second in the African 2012 Youth Championships and became an FM. Shared 1st-3rd places but still won 2nd place U-18.
Though seeded #23 in the South African Open 2014 he placed clear 4th (8/11) behind one GM, one IM and one WIM. Against Georgian GM Merab Gagunashvili, he played the Benko gambit, as recommended, and got a winning position. But in the end he faltered against the stronger opponent. Congratulations, Francois! See what happened.
"I started taking lessons from Valeriy in May, 2010. At the time, it seemed impossible that someone sitting in another part of the world could make such a huge improvement in my chess. I am grateful to Valeriy for putting in the time and effort to helping me improve my chess. I can recommend Valeriy confidently and without hesitation to anyone who is considering him as a coach."
He showed an impressive performance in the South Africa Open 2015 (the second year in a row) and added 88 ELO points () beating with Black an opponent rated 400 points higher.
I have had many coaches, but none of them as good as Valeriy. Under his guidance, my chess has improved a lot. I gave my best ever performance in the Under-12 (2nd place) and Under-1750 (3rd place) sections at the British Chess Championship 2018. Valeriy makes chess fun instead of a labor and also has many tricks to make things easy for you. I feel proud to be his student. -Arnav Srivastava
Dr. Jeffrey Plew (Australia) started lessons in January, 2010. He played in three Doerberl Cups and made progress every year. In the 2010 Doerberl Cup he scored only 50% in the "B" group. In the 2011 Doerberl Cup, he shared 3rd-4th. In 2012 Jeffrey played in the main event where he beat his first master and got a lot of Elo points.
At the 2012 World Open in Philadelphia he achieved a performance rating of about 2200, beating another FM in round 1 and drawing a WGM.
"I've had chess lessons with GM Valeriy Aveskulov for about eight months. It's been a great experience. He is, of course, an accomplished player, but also a very switched-on, capable and positive teacher, adept at electronic media. Valeriy quickly understood where I am at as a chessplayer - strength, style, knowledge, repertoire, personal context - and was able to effectively engage my play and move it forward.
For example, I'd struggled with a good response to 1.d4. I regularly played a stodgy QGD or Dutch Stonewall until the Nimzo-Indian was suggested and explained. I rapidly felt comfortable with this opening, and was able to implement it successfully OTB. I'm happier playing it and see further horizons for advancement -thanks to Valeriy.
He put me in touch with a range of useful resources. The benefits have been palpable, and confirmed in tournament play. While my chess perspectives have been expanding, it also became clear that the main limitation to improvement is the amount of time I can spend training (work, family ... fortunately Valeriy understands this too). But chess has been my passion for a few decades, and the opportunity to explore chess with such a player and person is terrific, worthwhile in itself. If you are looking for a chess mentor, I strongly recommend GM Valeriy Aveskulov."
Jeffrey completed the 'double' at the 2013 Dubbo Open, winning both the New South Wales (NSW) Country Championship, and the Dubbo Open itself.
Sergei Aslanov (RUS) made a tiger leap from 2226 to 2300+ rating in less than one month A few months later he continued his steady progress. So, 106 ELO points has been earned in 3 months. Good job, Sergei!
"I recommend Valeriy as an excellent chess trainer for his logical and patient approach, and in his ability to break down positions into their essential elements in a way that is accessible to the student. His services are also relatively inexpensive and affordable. He has helped dissect my games, so as to pinpoint the critical moments and reveal the possibilities contained in them, always emphasizing a rational and logical course." -Praveen Narayanan (USA)
Sessions with him also provide a rare window into the mind of a grandmaster. If taken piece by piece, they seem clear and obvious. But it is the whole one is concerned with. The picture that emerges is often remarkable and convincing. He has helped me develop confidence in my style. It is, of course, a long journey towards improvement. He urges combining calculations (tactics) with positional themes like restriction, blockade, overprotection, etc. The student will improve his understanding of the game by supplementing his own training efforts (analysis of one’s games, books and working through training materials that are provided) with expert advise from Valeriy."
Tom O'Gorman (b. 2002, Ireland). FM rated 2345. Won the Irish Ch. 2020 and made me very proud of him.
Christian Koepke (IM, Germany) After my chess had stagnated for some time, I started to take lessons from Valeriy. He gave me many suggestions on how to improve my play and also helped me to work systematically in areas which I had previously neglected. Since then I have noticed that my game has become more universal, and my results have also been good.
But of course Valeriy is always looking for ways to refine my play, so this is an ongoing process. I always enjoy our conversations and training sessions, and the atmosphere of our work is very cordial as well as productive.
As an adult learning chess, I was very happy to find GM Aveskulov as a coach. He is a talented high-level player with very affordable rates, and a dedicated coach and teacher. He has shown me how to improve my game in an enjoyable and unpretentious atmosphere with an emphasis on the examination of my own games and specific training geared towards a higher level of understanding and appreciation for the game. He has a solid understanding of the principles involved in chess and key ideas in chess strategy that he conveys easily in each lesson. As well, he has a tremendous work ethic and he is dedicated to helping me improve in a direction that suits my own style and interest. He often includes attachments and pgn files following a lesson for further study or future reference and he has sent me many games of masters in openings I have shown an interest in. -Bruce Highcock (Canada)
FM Adrian Randazzo (Italy) I have to thank Valeriy for the training sessions. They helped me improve my chess to the Fide Master level. A good assessment of the typical position in the middlegame and the basic rules in the endgame was, for me, very important. I must not forget that solving problems was the key to maintaining concentration during critical moments of my games. I highly recommend to all chessplayers the training sessions with GM Valeriy Aveskulov.