Grandmaster Mikhail Golubev
Grandmaster Mikhail Golubev is a world-class coach for aspiring players and elite Grandmasters alike. He has trained or seconded two FIDE World Champions: Anatoly Karpov and Ruslan Ponomariov. He has also coached many European and World Youth Champions, in categories from under 10 to under 20.
He is also a tremendous player: In 1996, he became a Grandmaster and won the championship of Ukraine. He has won or shared first place in 17 different international tournaments.
Mikhail is a world renowned expert in opening theory and its connection to the middlegame. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books "Easy Guide to the Dragon", "The Sicilian Sozin", "Understanding the King's Indian", and "Understanding the Sicilian".
Diana Golts
Diana Golts is a Canadian chess coach and former competitive player. She was a two-time Canadian representative at the World Youth Chess Championships and won the under 12 division in the first ever Canadian Girls Chess Championships. Raised in Toronto, Diana introduced hundreds of students to the game, including through the Chess 'n' Math Association, at Upper Canada College, Montessori Schools, and at the Markham Public Library. She loves teaching life skills through chess. Diana is a filmmaker with projects on Netflix, HBO, and ABC and has her masters degree from Columbia University in New York.
Woman FIDE Master Elizabeth Spiegel
Elizabeth is one of the most successful scholastic coaches in American history, having led IS318k to over 50 National Championship titles. Her work was featured in the movie "Brooklyn Castle" and Paul Tough's book "How Children Succeed." She is also an accomplished player who competed in multiple US Championships, winning the US Women's Championship brilliancy prize in 2007.
Nolan Hendrickson, National Master
Nolan is one of the top chess players and chess coaches in Wisconsin. He earned his National Master at the age of 17 and the Life Master title at 22. Nolan attained a scholarship for competitive chess at Lindenwood University where he had the unique opportunity to study under coach GM Yasser Seirawan – an American chess legend.
Nolan is extremely passionate about teaching chess and has a love for helping his students accomplish their chess-related goals. He has been teaching for over 10 years and has helped people of all ages improve their rating and love for the game. Nolan utilizes his knowledge of psychology and learning to help his students maximize their success in chess.
Outside of chess, Nolan holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a licensed therapist in Wisconsin. He hopes to publish his book on emotion theory in the years to come.
Parker Zhao, International Master-Elect
Parker Zhao is a 4th year economics PhD student at Stanford University. Previously, he studied computer science and economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Throughout his years in academia, he has enjoyed teaching in a variety of subjects, from economics, to computer science, to English language. Outside of academics, Parker is enthusiastic about running, racquet sports, language learning, travelling and chess.
Parker Zhao has been consistently ranked in the top 10 for his age group in the U.S. He represented the U.S. in the World Youth Chess Championships from 2003-2005, and was invited to play in the U.S. Juniors Closed Chess Championship in 2010, where he tied for first. He is an IM-elect, and only needs a few more points to become a full-fledged IM.
