ChessExcellence
FM Nicholas Van Der Nat · FIDE Master · FIDE Trainer

End the Plateau. Leave With the Exact Plan to Break Through.

The Strategy Assessment is a focused two-hour, one-on-one diagnosis of your chess. I study your games before we meet, find the real reasons you have stalled, and hand you a five-week roadmap built only for you. That goes for serious beginners under 800 and tournament players past 1800 alike. You stop guessing what to study, and start improving on purpose.

Reserve Your Strategy Assessment ($130) Credited in full toward your coaching package if you continue

28 years coaching · 3× National Champion · beginners to tournament players

Why effort alone has stopped working

It Is Not That You Study Too Little. You Study Without a System.

Your problem is not a lack of desire or discipline. It is that nobody has ever sat down, looked hard at your games, and told you the truth about what to fix first. That is true whether you are carving out time between meetings or finally enjoying the freedom of retirement.

01

Drowning in Noise

Courses, videos, opening apps, a hundred contradictory tips. More information has not moved your rating. It has buried the few things that actually matter for you.

02

Time You Cannot Waste

Whether your week is packed or finally your own, the months poured into the wrong material are gone for good. The goal is not more hours at the board. It is the shortest honest line to real improvement, so the time you give chess gives something back.

03

Generic Advice Misses You

"Solve more puzzles" is not a plan. Your plateau has specific causes, maybe a pawn structure you keep misplaying, maybe hours lost to sharp openings when it is your endgame technique that is costing you. Until I name them, you keep treating symptoms.

The fix

Stop Consuming. Start Diagnosing.

Strong players do not improve by adding more. They improve by removing the few errors that cost them the most, in the right order. That is exactly what the Strategy Assessment is built to do. It is not a free sample or a sales call dressed up as value. It is a paid, professional diagnosis, the same first step I take with every private client, and the fastest way to find out what your chess actually needs.

What you get in two hours

A Complete Read of Your Chess, and a Plan You Can Start Monday

Reserve Your Strategy Assessment ($130)
FM Nicholas Van Der Nat, FIDE Master and FIDE Trainer
Why trust this diagnosis

Twenty-Eight Years Turning Plateaus Into Progress

I have spent my career doing exactly one thing: helping ambitious players find the next level. The titles matter because they mean I can see what you cannot yet, and the track record matters because I have done this for players just like you, many times.

  • FIDE Master and FIDE Trainer, dual certified
  • 3× South African National Champion
  • Peak FIDE 2367 · Peak USCF 2476
  • 28 years coaching, full time
  • Verified student transformations from 1200 to 2000
  • Fourteen free lessons so you can see the method before you pay
  • Wikipedia-recognized player
The investment
$130
two hours, one-on-one, on Zoom

One wrong study path can cost you a year. This is the two hours that replaces the guesswork. And if you choose to continue with a coaching package, your $130 is credited in full toward it, so the diagnosis effectively costs you nothing.

Reserve Your Strategy Assessment ($130) Secure checkout · a few quick questions, then I confirm your time by email
Where it can lead

The Assessment Is the First Step. Here Is the Path.

There is no pressure to continue. But if the session shows you what is possible with real structure, these are the ways we keep going, and your $130 credits toward your coaching package when you do. Click a stream to see what it includes.

Stream 3 · The Flagship

Premium 1-on-1 Intensive

$1,280/mo

Two private two-hour sessions every week, daily exercise work, and daily access to me for your questions. Total immersion, built entirely around you.

This is total immersion, built around one player: you. We meet twice a week for private two-hour sessions on Zoom, four hours of one-on-one coaching every week, with a study plan that is rebuilt as you improve rather than handed to you once. Between sessions you get exercise work assigned for every day, and you can contact me daily with any query or question, so nothing sits unanswered and no momentum is lost. Your openings, your endgames, your thinking process: everything bends around your chess and your life, not the other way round.

  • Two private 2-hour sessions on Zoom every week: four hours of one-on-one coaching weekly
  • Exercise work assigned for every day
  • Daily contact with me for any queries and questions
  • A fully bespoke study plan, with personal analysis of your games, adjusted continuously as you improve

For the player who wants the fastest route and is done compromising.

Most popular
Stream 2

Small-Group Cohort

$640/mo

A live two-hour group session every week, individual work for your level, and a private one-on-one game review every month. Two to six players, never more.

We meet live for a two-hour group session every week, in a deliberately small group: two to six players, never more. You get the rigour of live teaching plus something private lessons cannot give you: peers who take improvement as seriously as you do. Every week you also get individual work assigned for your level, and you can contact me with any query or question. And once a month we meet privately, one on one, for a game review session: we work through your monthly plan, go through your games, and assess your strengths and weaknesses so the next month is aimed at exactly what your chess needs.

  • A live 2-hour group coaching session every week, capped at six players
  • Individual work assigned every week, matched to your level
  • Direct contact with me for any queries and questions
  • A private one-on-one game review session every month: your plan, your games, your strengths and weaknesses

For the player who trains best with structure, company, and a standing appointment.

Stream 1

Correspondence

$240/mo

A monthly study plan, a new lesson built for you on the website every week, and my feedback on your work. Coaching without the calendar, not without the coach.

Most players who study alone do not fail from lack of effort. They fail because nobody is watching, and the plan quietly dissolves. Correspondence fixes exactly that. Each month I assign your work: a study plan built around your roadmap for improvement, with a new lesson created for you on the website every week and work assigned for every day to go with it. You message me your work and your questions, I give you feedback and follow up, and I hold you accountable to the plan. You train on your own schedule, but you never train in silence.

  • A monthly study plan with assigned work, built around your roadmap for improvement
  • A new lesson created for you on the website every week, with work assigned for every day
  • Direct messaging with me, with feedback on the work you submit
  • Accountability: I follow up on your work and keep you on the plan

For the player whose calendar cannot promise a weekly slot, but who wants a coach watching their work.

An honest filter

Who This Is For

This is for you if

  • You are a committed adult who wants to genuinely improve, whether you are starting out below 800 or stuck near 1800
  • Your time is valuable, whether you are managing a demanding career or enjoying retirement, and you want the shortest path and a real return on the hours you give chess, not more content
  • You are ready to follow a plan, not just collect one
  • You want the truth about your game from someone qualified to give it

This is not for you if

  • You are looking for a free lesson or a quick tip
  • You want a magic opening that wins without study
  • You are not willing to put in the five weeks
  • You are happy drifting and not actually trying to improve
Before you book

Questions, Answered

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 do I need to send you?

Right after payment, you answer a few quick questions, mainly your Lichess and Chess.com usernames plus your goal. You get an automatic email copy to confirm it is correct. I pull your games from there. That is all I need.

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. If I ever do not think I can genuinely help you, I will tell you and refund you.

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.

Why is the session two hours?

Because two hours is where the truth comes out. It gives us time to introduce a theme, practice it, and work on your thought process in a single sitting. It also lets me stretch your concentration, and when fatigue sets in, that is exactly when the failures in technique reveal themselves. In this first session I go through recent games I have picked out from your play, highlight your strengths and the areas needing improvement, and lay out the plan for the road ahead. Just as important, I hear how you think while you play, so I understand why your errors occur, not just where.

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.

How does booking work?

You pay securely first, then answer a few quick questions about your chess. I review your games and email you within 48 hours to confirm a session time that suits you.

The two hours that change the trajectory

Find Out Exactly What Your Chess Needs.

Stop guessing. Bring me your games, and leave with a plan and the clarity you have been missing. The roadmap is yours to keep, whatever you decide next.

Reserve Your Strategy Assessment ($130) Secure checkout · I confirm your time by email within 48 hours