Igor Smirnov (chess player)

This article is about the Ukrainian chess grandmaster. For the Russian politician, see Igor Smirnov (politician).
Igor Smirnov
Personal information
Native name
Ігор Смирнов
Born (1987-10-28) October 28, 1987
Sevastopol, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Websitechess-teacher.com
Chess career
Country Ukraine
TitleGrandmaster (2008)
FIDE rating2496 (March 2026)
Peak rating2505 (January 2009)

Igor Smirnov (Ігор Смирнов; born 28 October 1987 in Sevastopol) is a Ukrainian chess player and Grandmaster (2008). He is also a certified chess coach and the founder of the Remote Chess Academy, an online platform offering courses and educational materials for chess players worldwide.[1]

Chess career

Smirnov began playing chess at the age of eight. In 2001, at just fourteen years old, he earned the title of International Master.[1] He won the Ukrainian Junior Chess Championship in 2002, and in 2004 he received his chess trainer’s certificate, becoming an official coach the following year.[2]

He achieved the Grandmaster title in 2008 at the age of 21 after completing the necessary rating and norm requirements.[1] Smirnov won or shared first place in several tournaments, including the Czech Junior Open, and achieved a peak Elo rating of 2505 in January 2009.[3]

Earlier in his career, Smirnov represented Ukraine in multiple international youth competitions. He won several medals at the European Team Junior Championships — team silver in 2002 and individual silver in 2003 — and was also part of the Ukrainian team that earned silver at the 2003 World Under-16 Olympiad.[4]

He had notable performances in various open tournaments across Ukraine, including first place (shared) in Alushta (2002, with Olga Aleksandrova), a second place finish in another Alushta event behind Denis Yevseyev, victory in Sevastopol (2004, with Roman Kalenik), and top results in Illichivsk (2007) and Odessa (2008, sharing first with Yuriy Drozdovskyy, Yaroslav Zherebukh, and Eduard Andreev).[5]

Teaching and Remote Chess Academy

After 2009, Smirnov shifted his focus from professional play to teaching. He founded the Remote Chess Academy (RCA), where he provides online lessons, video courses, and training materials aimed at improving players’ strategic understanding and psychological approach to chess.[6][1]

As of January 2026, the Remote Chess Academy YouTube channel surpassed 870,000 subscribers.[7]

Publications

  • The Grandmaster's Secrets: Beginner Chess Course
  • Grandmaster's Opening Laboratory: Chess Openings Course
  • How To Beat Titled Players and Stronger Opponents: Middlegame Chess Course
  • Your Winning Plan: Middlegame Chess Course
  • An Endgame Expert: Endgame Chess Course
  • Self-Taught Grandmaster: Chess Training Course
  • The Grandmaster's Positional Understanding
  • Calculate Till Mate: Middlegame Chess Technique
  • Grandmaster's Opening Laboratory 2: Advanced Chess Openings Course

References

  1. ^ a b c d Nikhil Dixit (2023). "6 best chess courses by grandmaster Igor Smirnov". Improving Chess. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Igor Smirnov". ChessGames. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  3. ^ "GM Igor Smirnov". ChessBase. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  4. ^ "OlimpBase – European Youth Team Chess Championship". Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Rating Progress Chart: Smirnov, Igor". Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  6. ^ "11 Top-Rated Chess Courses for Online Learners". The Fordham Ram. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Remote Chess Academy 100K Subscribers!". Remote Chess Academy. 3 January 2026. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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