Marcell Demetrovics
Started playing chess at age: 6
Experience with: coaching beginner, intermediate, and advanced players
Chess rating: 2100-2200 on Lichess
Fun facts: When I am not coaching chess I work in the film industry, mainly in the camera department.
Hobbies: I am an avid climber, so when I have some free time I like to be up in the mountains or atleast in a bouldering gym. I also love skiing, going to concerts, playing video games and watching films. Art is another great passion of mine, so you might just run into me in a gallery or exhibition.
QA with me
Q: What inspired you to start coaching chess and how long have you been doing it?
Q: What is your proudest chess achievement or moment?
Q: How would you describe your coaching philosophy or teaching style?
Q: How do you tailor your coaching to fit the needs of different students?
Q: Can you share an example of how you've helped a student improve their game?
Q: Who is your favourite chess player and why?
Q: If you had one piece of advice for either new players or students wanting to progress what would it be?
Q: What is the most valuable lesson chess has taught you in life?
Q: What are your favourite chess openings or strategies to teach?
Q: Do you have any memorable or funny moments from your chess coaching experience?
A: I have been volunteering at summer camps for 7+ years and 2 or so years ago I found myself organising a chess club at one. That made me realise just how much I enjoy coaching and spreading the joy of the game.
A: Getting to meet Anand, Rapport, Gukesh, Leko and Grischuk at the Budapest Chess Olympiad.
A: I believe in teaching the thought process of a chess player as opposed to openings and strict rules. I hope to give them the pattern recognition and positional awareness required to find the best moves. I also find developing their psychology key, since sometimes (especially over the board) it is often easier to read your opponent than the position. Not to mention the importance of keeping composed and not making emotional decisions. I also have a love for the history behind chess, so I will try to sneak in famous positions and games from the greats.
A: I will closely analyse their games, identify mistakes and patterns within them and focus on what they need to develop. It is also important to know what level someone is playing at and what they need the most at that level to excel. I also pay keen attention to seeing how my students feel, if they are getting exhausted, I will find a lighter topic, so that they do not get overloaded. In order to do that, it's important to not just identify what someone struggles with, but what they enjoy, be that puzzles, gambits or variations. It is important to keep the fun in the game.
A: I saw the most striking improvements in my beginner groups. They managed to go from quite often struggling to find moves and being unable to checkmate (unless it is a simple ladder or backrank mate) to having to decide between 3 or 4 good moves and finding complex mates.
A: All time favourite is Mikhael Tal, since he is the magician of attacking chess and has some of the most jaw-dropping games in the history of chess. At the moment, it is Daniil Dubov, because his style resembles Tal's.
A: Play longer games and allow yourself to think, one can figure out a lot by just evaluating all the moves and lines more in-depth as opposed to finding a move that seems good and just seeing how the game goes. In 10+ minute games, one has the time to identify threats, plan attacks and study the lines not just one or two moves deep, but five or six. Also, watch some famous games and do the Lichess practice section.
A: To remain composed under pressure, since if one lets their emotions run loose, that may very well lead to defeat.
A: I like teaching gambits, because they are excellent at showing various attacking ideas in the opening/middle game and they can teach just as much about defense. And getting mated in 10 moves never feels good, so the best way to avoid that is to learn the gambit and its refusal.
A: I love seeing how my students experiment with creating variations of their own. I witnessed two students creating a cross between chess and battleship by putting up a second board in the middle of their board, secretly putting their pieces up and guessing squares. Another group of students tried playing with twice as many pieces (yes, that means the board is full at the start) and many other creations and it never fails to entertain me, since creativity is an often understated part of both chess and life.
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