IM Mark Plotkin

My name is Mark Plotkin. I'm 25 years old, just graduated the University of Toronto, and I'm an IM. My current FIDE rating is 2400 and I'm the #14 player in Canada.

Here's an article written about me in the Globe and Mail

www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-pandemic-kickstarts-successful-career-for-young-toronto-chess-coach/

My greatest win in a game was with the black pieces against Varuzhan Akobian. See Chapter 3 of this study: lichess.org/study/kVinOKTD

My second greatest accomplishment in 1 game was that I beat a 2550 GM with the black pieces. His name was Victor Mikhalevski.
This is the game: http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2016/7/1/Game30105150.html

I have been teaching for the past 7 years.
My greatest accomplishment was getting a student from 1700 to 2200 within a span of 1 year.
I have taught several different Canadian Champions.

I stream live on twitch occasionally, for semi-educational content on chess and variants.
www.twitch.tv/littleplotkin/

My best skill in teaching is to teach my students to be very active in the game of chess, as well as opening preparation. Secondly, as an aggressive player, another one of my expertise is opening closed positions and attacking. On top of this, having played many games online, deeply understanding basic endgames have given me an advantage over many of my opponents, both in online and over the board play.

I prepare to run my lessons in a unique fashion in comparison with other coaches. have a lot of "tips" sheets, that helps students out at all facets of the game (opening/endgame/attacking).

I will look at the games from my students, whether it be from online or over the board. After that, we will analyze specific openings that would best fit their style. Then, we would work on various different parts of the middlegame to create a more well rounded approach. Some themes would include positional play, strategic play, maneuvering, attacking and defending.

Lastly, there will be concrete analysis on how to improve endgame play by analyzing very concrete, and fundamental ideas to ensure that one gets the advantage over their opponents.