CoachChamps To Start September 10: What You Need To Know To Enjoy The Show
The first CoachChamps is about to start, and we're excited to see who comes out on top as the best chess coach in the world! The event kicks off on September 10, with each of the eight participating coaches drafting students. From October 7 to October 10, students will compete in round-robin competitions, with a $25,000 prize fund at stake.
Here's everything you need to know to get ready for CoachChamps:
- Who Are The Coaches?
- Who Are The Students?
- What Is The Chess.com Improvement Challenge?
- What's At Stake?
- How To Watch CoachChamps Live
Who Are The Coaches?
We invited eight of the most popular chess coaches in the world to participate in CoachChamps. Throughout the year, some of them have already provided training materials for improvers worldwide.
Spearheading the list of coaches is the one and only IM Levy Rozman, "the internet's chess teacher." The most famous chess creator in the world, Levy, is no stranger to helping players of every level improve at chess.
Seven other popular coaches are joining the competition: WGM Dina Belenkaya, GMs Ben Finegold, Arturs Neiksans, IMs David Pruess, Andras Toth, and NMs Robert Ramirez and Can Kabadayi.
On September 10, coaches will draft students starting at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST.
Who Are The Students?
There would be no coaches if it weren't for their students. And while the coaches are the stars of the show, the students will play a big part in it, too!
The CoachChamps students will be the ones playing in CoachChamps to make their coaches proud. Throughout the year, our staff has selected the most engaged members of our community who took part in the 2025 Chess.com Improvement Challenge.
In total, 32 students will play in four different rating groups, from Under 800 to Under 2000. Each group will play a round-robin with a 10+2 time control, and their collective results will contribute to their coach's final score.
Round-robins run from October 7 to 10, with one rating group playing each day starting at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST.
What Is The Chess.com Improvement Challenge?
The 2025 Chess.com Improvement Challenge is Chess.com's initiative to help our community of chess improvers. The challenge, which kicked off in January of this year, invited players to sign up and strive to reach their chess improvement goals.
Throughout the year, community members gathered and helped one another in their improvement journey. Along the way, we've also published content to guide these students and help them grow. We've also organized tournaments and simuls against masters, allowing members to put what they've learned into practice.
Though the year is almost over, it's not too late to join the challenge and reach your 2025 improvement goals. Join our Improvers club and start working on your chess to hit a new time high before 2026!
What's At Stake?
CoachChamps is the first coach-focused event on Chess.com! As such, CoachChamps will determine who the best coach in the world is. To make things more interesting, coaches will also vie for a piece of the $20,000 prize fund! You can check out the prize distribution below:
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $7,500 |
| 2nd | $5,000 |
| 3rd | $2,500 |
| 4th-8th | $1,500 |
| Improver's choice | $2,500 |
Improvers will also benefit from playing in the event. Although they won't receive cash prizes, they're all getting free private lessons with some of the world's best coaches! They will also get free one-year Diamond memberships and a $100 Chessable voucher to help their improvement journey.
How To Watch CoachChamps Live
You can watch CoachChamps live on Chess.com/TV and on our YouTube and Twitch channels. The first day of broadcast will be on September 10 at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST, as coaches will draft their students to the competition.
Each coach will then have one month to provide chess lessons to their students. Coaches may livestream these lessons throughout the month, so be sure to check their channels as well.
- GM Ben Finegold
- GM Arturs Neiksans
- IM Levy Rozman
- IM David Pruess
- IM Andras Toth
- WGM Dina Belenkaya
- NM Robert Ramirez
- NM Can Kabadayi
Our official broadcast of the event will then return on October 7 through 10 with the round-robins.
Who do you think will win the inaugural CoachChamps? Let us know in the comment section below!
