FM Nicholas Van Der Nat · FIDE Master · FIDE Trainer

Break the Rating Plateau You Have Been Stuck On for Years

I coach adults one on one. I study your real games before we meet, name the two or three habits that are quietly costing you rating points, and hand you a five week plan built only for you.

Know exactly what is costing you rating points
A five week plan matched to the hours you actually have
A thinking process you can trust in your own games

Book Your $130 Strategy Assessment

Fully booked this week, you have a place next week at the latest. Credited in full toward your coaching package if you continue.

★★★★★

39 reviews from real students. Across 15 tracked students, the average rise from each student's lowest to highest recorded rapid rating is +641 points, verified from their public Lichess and Chess.com histories, not self reported.

Verified rapid rating gains for 15 ChessExcellence students, lowest to highest recorded rating

Every bar is a real student. Every rating history is public.

The Plateau

Does This Sound Familiar?

If you are a driven adult who came back to chess and started taking it seriously, I have probably heard your story before.

You have watched hundreds of hours of chess content, and your rating sits roughly where it did two years ago.
You blunder a piece in a position you were winning, and afterwards you cannot explain what you were thinking.
You have bought courses you never finished, because nothing told you which part actually applied to you.
You study openings because it feels productive, then lose the game in the middlegame anyway.
You have three to five hours a week for chess, and no real idea which of those hours matter.
You have started to wonder whether adults simply cannot improve much. That one is not true, and I can show you why.

None of this means you lack talent. It means you are studying without a diagnosis.

Why I Built ChessExcellence

You Are Not Untalented. You Are Unguided.

FM Nicholas Van Der Nat, FIDE Master and FIDE Trainer

I started ChessExcellence 28 years ago because of something I kept seeing. Players were handed a generic curriculum and told to work harder. Nobody looked at their actual games. Nobody asked how they were deciding on a move. So the same two or three mistakes got practiced for years, and then the plateau got blamed on age or talent.

I coach the opposite way around. Before I teach you anything, I look at your real games and find the pattern in how you decide under pressure. Then I build the plan around what I find, and around the time you genuinely have. That is the whole difference, and it is why my students stop guessing.

Why me. I am a FIDE Master and a FIDE Trainer, dual certified. I won the South African Closed Championship three times, with a peak FIDE rating of 2367 and a peak USCF rating of 2476. I have coached full time for 28 years, one student at a time. My students' results are not screenshots. They sit in public rating histories that anyone can check.

Wikipedia FIDE Profile Chess.com Lichess

How We Can Work Together

Four Ways In. Every One Starts With Your Games.

Everyone begins with the same first step, then chooses how much support they want after it.

Start Here

Strategy Assessment

Two hours, one on one. I analyse your games in advance, we work through your thinking live, and you leave with a written five week roadmap. Credited in full toward your coaching package if you continue.

$130 one time

Currently full

Every place is taken this week. Book now and you have a place next week at the latest. I confirm your time by email.

Book Your $130 Strategy Assessment

Premium 1-on-1 Intensive

$1,280 per month

Two private two hour sessions every week, daily exercises, and daily access to me between sessions. For players who want the steepest curve possible.

Currently full

5 of 5 slots taken. Ask me to hold the next opening.

Join the waiting list →

Small-Group Cohort

$640 per month

A live weekly two hour session with two to six players at your level, plus a private one on one review of your own games every month.

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8 of 12 slots taken. 4 spaces left for October.

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Correspondence Coaching

$240 per month

A monthly study plan, a new lesson built for you every week, and direct feedback on the work you send back to me.

2 slots left

12 of 14 slots taken. 2 slots available for October.

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I cap every format on purpose. One coach, real preparation before each session, and no roster to hand you off to.

What Changes

Three Things You Get That No Course Can Give You

You stop guessing what to study

Your roadmap sequences openings, tactics, and endgames in the order that fits your level and your week. Because the plan is built from your own games, every hour you spend is aimed at the thing actually costing you points, instead of whatever an algorithm served you that morning.

You find out what is really going wrong

I review your real games before we ever meet, and during the session I listen to how you think while you play. That is how a habit gets named rather than guessed at, and once it has a name you can fix the cause instead of treating the symptom for another two years.

You build judgment you can use without me

I teach through questions, using the Piece Activity Count and the Rule of Three, the same two lenses I use on my own games. The goal is not that you remember my answer. It is that you find the right move yourself, in the game you play next Tuesday night.

How It Works

Three Steps. No Mystery.

Book your Strategy Assessment

You pay securely, then answer a few quick questions about your chess, mainly your Lichess and Chess.com usernames and your goal. That is everything I need from you, and it takes about two minutes.

I study your games and build the plan

Before we meet I go through your recent games and pick out what matters. Then we spend two hours together on Zoom working through your thinking, and I write your five week roadmap around what I found.

You play with a plan

You start on Monday with a clear sequence and a thinking process to lean on. Continue with monthly coaching, or take the roadmap and run with it on your own. Either way, it is yours to keep.

Real Students, Verified Results

They Did Not Want to Go First Either

Every quote below is a real review. Where a student has a public Lichess account with enough rated games, their actual rating history is shown beside it.

★★★★★

From 1540 to 1700 FIDE, after four other coaches

“I have been working with Nicholas for about 18 months, with some breaks in between. He was the fifth chess coach I tried over many years, and is far and away the best I have experienced. His interest in your play is genuine and he truly tailors his lessons, which I have found to be rare. My FIDE rating has increased from 1540 to 1700, far exceeding the impact of previous coaches. If you're looking for a coach, look no further.”

ChrisN86 · Verified rating history

ChrisN86 Lichess rapid rating progress, 1884 to 2027

★★★★★

My whole thinking process changed

“I am a 45 yo 'adult improver' and have found Nicholas to be a tremendous coach and resource for me. ... I found that after only a few sessions, my whole thinking process has changed fundamentally for the better.”

t_casper

★★★★★

40 years of chess, and I had no idea what I did not know

“I've been playing chess for about 40 years and had no idea what I didn't know. ... He has a solid system that will make you think beyond your comfort zone and open up new possibilities on the chess board.”

El-Cap

★★★★★

My errors identified in a single session

“He's an incredible teacher, knows the game and really sits down to identify strengths and weaknesses. Already I can see where my errors of play are from one session. Highly, highly recommend.”

linkfoursword

orenlivne · verified history

“Very structured, and points you to the resources and exercises you need to do to improve your lacking areas.”

orenlivne

BigData1969 · verified history

“He helped me find an opening repertoire that is a great fit for me, and through analysis of my games he helped me identify and correct weaknesses.”

BigData1969

“I myself gained over a few hundred rating points and am still going.”

penguinbrawler

slimthugster · verified history

“He spent, clearly, a good amount time reviewing my games before our lesson and had lots of very helpful pointers...”

slimthugster

Brekb1122 · verified history

“Amazing coach who challenges you to not only find the correct moves in a position but challenges you to answer why they are correct.”

Brekb1122

Ungulate · verified history

“His instruction has been highly personalized and has helped me to progress much faster than I had ever expected.”

Ungulate

orenlivne · verified history

“Very structured, and points you to the resources and exercises you need to do to improve your lacking areas.”

orenlivne

BigData1969 · verified history

“He helped me find an opening repertoire that is a great fit for me, and through analysis of my games he helped me identify and correct weaknesses.”

BigData1969

“I myself gained over a few hundred rating points and am still going.”

penguinbrawler

slimthugster · verified history

“He spent, clearly, a good amount time reviewing my games before our lesson and had lots of very helpful pointers...”

slimthugster

Brekb1122 · verified history

“Amazing coach who challenges you to not only find the correct moves in a position but challenges you to answer why they are correct.”

Brekb1122

Ungulate · verified history

“His instruction has been highly personalized and has helped me to progress much faster than I had ever expected.”

Ungulate

Hover to pause. Read all 39 reviews and rating histories →

The Logical Case

What You Actually Get, Side by Side

Emotion tells you the plateau is worth ending. This part is for the side of you that wants to check the boxes first.

	ChessExcellence	Course platforms	Coach marketplaces
Your own games analysed before the first session	✓	✗	Varies
A written five week plan built for you	✓	✗	Varies
A FIDE Master and FIDE Trainer in every session	✓	Sometimes	Varies
The same coach every session, no handoff	✓	✗	✗
Results you can verify in public rating histories	✓	✗	✗
Feedback on the work you actually submit	✓	✗	Varies
A large self paced video library	Some	✓	✗
Lowest possible price	✗	✓	Varies

If the cheapest option is the goal, a course library wins and I will say so. If ending the plateau is the goal, the top six rows are the reason people book with me.

Before You Book

Questions, Answered

Why not just buy a course, or find a cheaper coach?

You can, and for some players that is the right call. Here is what you are unlikely to get. A course does not know which of its lessons you personally need, so you end up studying material aimed at somebody else's weaknesses. A cheaper coach is usually cheaper because they are not analysing your games in advance, or because you are getting whoever is free that week. What you are paying me for is the diagnosis and the plan, from a titled coach who has done this for 28 years. If I ever do not think I can genuinely help you, I will tell you and refund you.

Can I really still improve as an adult?

Yes. Adults improve all the time once they stop studying in the dark. Adults learn differently, not worse: you bring patience, life experience, and the focus to truly grasp a plan rather than memorize it, which is exactly what this game rewards. Most adults stall not because of age, but because they study without a system and never get an honest look at their own games. Fix that, and you improve.

What if I am a beginner under 800, or already strong?

Both are welcome. Some of my most rewarding work is with players building their foundation from the ground up, and the roadmap scales just as well for stronger players. It simply meets you where you are, and we find what to work on first so you improve without the wasted years.

I do not have hours a day to study. Is this realistic for a busy schedule?

Yes, and that is exactly the point. My job is to make the most of the time you already have, not to pile more onto your week. Your roadmap is built around your schedule, so every minute is aimed at what will actually move your rating. The goal is real improvement and a process you genuinely enjoy, not a second job.

Is the $130 really credited back?

Yes. If you continue with a coaching package, the full $130 is credited toward it. The diagnosis effectively becomes free the moment you decide to keep going.

How is this different from a free intro call?

A free call is a sales pitch. This is real work: I analyse your games in advance and you leave with a written five week plan whether or not you ever work with me again. The price is what lets me give you the depth.

More questions answered on the FAQ page →

Break the Rating Plateau You Have Been Stuck On for Years

Does This Sound Familiar?

You Are Not Untalented. You Are Unguided.

Four Ways In. Every One Starts With Your Games.

Strategy Assessment

Premium 1-on-1 Intensive

Small-Group Cohort

Correspondence Coaching

Three Things You Get That No Course Can Give You

You stop guessing what to study

You find out what is really going wrong

You build judgment you can use without me

Three Steps. No Mystery.

Book your Strategy Assessment

I study your games and build the plan

You play with a plan

They Did Not Want to Go First Either

From 1540 to 1700 FIDE, after four other coaches

My whole thinking process changed

40 years of chess, and I had no idea what I did not know

My errors identified in a single session

What You Actually Get, Side by Side

Questions, Answered

Are You Ready to Get Started?