BUILDING CHARACTER, SHAPING MINDS
OUR COACHES
Sahir Abbas (Head Coach)
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Private Chess instructor for over 10 years including significant experience teaching large chess classes and supervising Chess Summer Camps.
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Expert- level player, maintained rating above 2000 nationally from 2005- 2010, with current CFC Rating of 1904 (click here to see CFC rating page), Fide rating of 1849.
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2-Time Western Junior Chess Champion (Jamaica) and 2-time runner up medalist
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Represented Jamaica in the Sagicor Junior Championship in Barbados in 2005 and ranked in the Top 10 of juniors (under -20)
Meet-up with some of our students!
I began playing chess at age 5 with my father, it was a great way for us to bond and still is. At around the age of eleven, I was beating my dad, and it wasn't long before I was one of the top juniors and chess players in Jamaica. I competed at the highest levels in my country and though I didn't always win- I learnt valuable lessons about chess and life.
Chess allowed me to develop confidence as it was an area in which I excelled, especially since I wasn't the most athletically gifted child. It taught me how to win and how to lose. It also gifted me great friends. I recommend anyone, especially children learning this wonderful game.
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Ekrem Tamkan (Chess Teacher)
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19 years of experience as Chess Teacher and personal coach including experience coaching National Junior Team Training Camps in Turkey.
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Chess expert with current CFC Rating of 2032, USCF Rating of 2074, Fide Rating of 1851.
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2nd Place winner in the U16 Municipal Championships of Istanbul.
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Top 16 player in the U18 Category of Turkey National League in 2006 and 2008
I learned chess at the age of 13 and started my teaching career two years later at a local chess club in my hometown, Istanbul. Since then, I’ve accumulated 19 years of teaching experience through a wide spectrum of occasions such as national team training camps of Austria and Turkey, panels and exhibitions, chess clubs, schools, and personal coaching. My best
students entered the Turkish national team through the U10, U12, and U14 age categories. I believe that having taught chess in the four countries of Turkey, Austria, USA, and Canada brought me a unique chess culture that immensely contributes to my teaching skills.
I left competitive chess in 2009 to pursue a mining engineering career where I hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After 8 years of engineering experience in the industry, I finally left mining for the love of teaching chess with full-time dedication in 2021. Since then, I’ve been a passionate chess professional aiming to inspire youngsters and being an active member of the Toronto chess community.
