Overview
Chess Training Program: Self-Taught Grandmaster by GM Igor Smirnov
“Why do Some Players Play BETTER Than Others?”

Really, why? A lot of people play and study chess. However, only 1-3% of players have really good achievements (titles, prizes…).
What is different about this successful minority from the rest?
It is NOT a matter of talent. I have observed thousands of different players, and I can state it with confidence.
Yes, you need to have chess talent for the highest chess achievements (over 2600-2700 rating). However, anyone can become a titled player and get 200-300 rating points.
It depends on your TRAINING.
At the same time, I know a lot of players who study chess 8 hours a day (more than many GMs) but don’t have any real progress.
Thus, the major factor here is not how much you train, but HOW you train.
Here we come to one of my favorite topics – an effective chess training program.
Lack of Chess School.
“Education in chess goes on in a most haphazard fashion.” – E.Lasker
There is no system of education in chess. There was a system in former USSR (and it gave great results), but that has long passed.
Chess players study chess randomly. Nobody has an effective chess training program. Nobody really knows what and how to study. Most chess teachers are just a bit more experienced players. They also do NOT know what you really need and how to help you.
A chess player (or a chess teacher) is a job, and the same applies to all other professions, it requires a special system of preparation.
For some strange reason, many chess players don’t understand this. They think that it is enough to buy some chess books, to read them, to have some practice, and “voila” – you are a strong chess player.
What if doctors (let’s say surgeons) start using the same method of learning? Luckily, they don’t do it. Otherwise, they would sometimes cut off something by mistake.
What is the Solution?
In order to progress in chess, you need to not just train, but to train the RIGHT things. You need to have a chess training program (training plan), which will give you a comprehensive system of chess knowledge. You need to acquire the necessary skills at the right time.
Also, you need to use EFFECTIVE chess training methods, which REALLY gives you improvement.
It is my intention to help you with this purpose; I have developed a special course just for that“Self-taught Grandmaster”.
About the Author:

Igor Smirnov is an International Grandmaster from Ukraine, currently rated 2507 Fide.
He is also a Chess Coach and holds a Master’s degree in Psychology.
GM Smirnov has developed numerous chess lessons, articles, webinars and training courses, including the famous courses that have helped many players of all levels improve their chess skills and break their barriers to climb up to higher new levels.
Is this course for me?
If you want to progress in chess, BUT you:
- Live in a small city.
- Don’t have a chess coach.
- Don’t have a lot of time for training.
- Don’t have an opportunity to play in strong tournaments regularly.
- Want to get MORE benefit out of your training.
Then this course is exactly for you!
We have combined the successful experience of:
- Former USSR chess Schools.
- My own playing and teaching experience
- Psychological knowledge about human brain functioning (and effective learning)
- Thousands of my pupils.
Now you can get the most effective chess training methods, which have proved its high efficiency.
GM Igor Smirnov will show you WHAT to do, HOW to do it and what MATERIALS you should use. You will get a clear guide, a clear map for your chess progress.
“You Have a Firm Guarantee”
One of the biggest problems concerning chess teachers and authors is a lack of responsibility. Many chess teachers (authors) do NOT care about your progress. Your chess results may not change or even go down – no one cares.
Every professional must have responsibility for his work! Everyone! Except for many chess teachers and authors. That’s why they are NOT really interested in helping you.
Someone has to break this tendency. That’s why I give you a firm guarantee. If you study the course “Self-taught Grandmaster” and perform all the practical tasks – you will get chess progress.
Chess course “Self-taught Grandmaster” also contains a practical part.
The practical part will help you to turn your knowledge into practice. After a performing of a special set of training tasks, you will really get the appropriate SKILLS. This way you will get better in chess right after studying the course.
The practical part of the course contains:
20 special training tasks – Including special anti-blunder training, rational time distribution training, tactical training and many more…
200 commented games and puzzles – Here I will explain to you in detail the Grandmasters’ way of thinking. Thus you will be able to copy it and to get the same GMs’ results!
Detailed Instructions about What and How you should train – It will help you to train yourself properly and to achieve an optimal outcome from the program.
Chess course “Self-taught Grandmaster” contains these materials:
- A comprehensive training program.
- 142 minutes of video lessons.
- Text versions of every video lesson.
- The best training techniques and materials.
- 20 special training tasks.
- 200 commented games and training puzzles for your training.
- Important material for printing.
- My database of 100 000 computer games.
- The answers to all your questions about chess training.
- All the programs necessary to use the course properly.
The price.
The first training block already gives you approximately 300 rating point increase in 3-4 months! A lot of my pupils achieved this result already. The training program consists of 4 blocks.
Important: This product works natively with Windows computers. If you would like to use it on a Mac you will either need to install Bootcamp with a copy of Windows or run the software using a Windows virtual box such as Parallels or VMWare.