There are no doubt knowledgeable and effective tutors who are rated under master level. However if you want to charge a fee you want at least a master title. It wouldn't necessarily have to be from FIDE (an FM). Generally the higher the title the more you can get away with charging.
The exception being when you're a respected author. Famous authors could likely charge more than any unknown GM. NM Dan Heisman comes to mind.
If not FIDE who else gives titles?
The Queen?
If not FIDE who else gives titles?
I give Grandmaster titles for one ounce of gold! We can negotiate silver
Titles give you more credibility, though in no way do they magically make you a good teacher. It's like saying all Post. Docs in math can teach basic highschool algebra. (Note: I mean "teach", not just lecture like a one-way broadcast with no care if the not-so-bright students really understood the concepts).
Also, we have to factor what level the student is, as well. Bare novices/beginners do not really need a titled player to show them how to get better. Though a 1600 may need atleast an expert to offer them sound critique.
Though based on NM Heisman's article on finding good instructors, 1700-1800 should be a minimum bar to consider teaching for a fee, but even then, you'd be safer working with novices and handing them off to stronger coaches after they cross the 1200-1400 rating classes.
is there much work for someone at 1700-1800 level and what sort of fee would be reasonable to charge at that level?
Could someone please post a link to NM Heisman's article? Thanks for all your help.
I would recommend at first free tutoring so you know how well you can tutor. Because there are good tutors and bad tutors.
this is something i am looking into for one day in the future maybe. I do teach my friends and they definately improve to the point where they give me a good game and win a few. this may mean i am a good teacher or a bad chess player, either way thank you for all your advice.
If not FIDE who else gives titles?
I don't know about other national organizations, but in the United States we have a national master title.
is there much work for someone at 1700-1800 level and what sort of fee would be reasonable to charge at that level?
Much work?
Depends on the type of student and number of students you are working with. Also on the quality you want to bring to the table. In the fair city of DFW, there are 1400-1600 rated instructors who work with 20-30 students a week and from what I'm hearing, the quality deteriorates with the load they undertake.
What is reasonable? It ties into your first question. If you can really teach (regardless of how bright and malleable the student is) and are putting in a lot of effort to really hit mutually agreed upon goals for both student and parent (where the money comes from) , you shouldn't be afraid to charge what is market rate for the city and not base it on a rating alone.
Additionally, some federations (like the USCF in the U.S.) offer certifications (written exams at the higher levels) to make you more "appealing" to schools as a chess instructor.
Googling around should tell you what the going rate should be in your city.
Though if you're just starting out, you don't have references / proof that you are effective/can deliver results so I'd go with either a low entry rate and really work hard on a few students. Once they start shining at scholastic venues and bring home the trophies, your resume as an effective coach will grow.
If you are indeed effective, you can bump your rate up to something more competitive.
BTW, the Heisman article on finding good instructors is available here.
is there much work for someone at 1700-1800 level and what sort of fee would be reasonable to charge at that level?
Much work?
Depends on the type of student and number of students you are working with. Also on the quality you want to bring to the table. In the fair city of DFW, there are 1400-1600 rated instructors who work with 20-30 students a week and from what I'm hearing, the quality deteriorates with the load they undertake.
What is reasonable? It ties into your first question. If you can really teach (regardless of how bright and malleable the student is) and are putting in a lot of effort to really hit mutually agreed upon goals for both student and parent (where the money comes from) , you shouldn't be afraid to charge what is market rate for the city and not base it on a rating alone.
Additionally, some federations (like the USCF in the U.S.) offer certifications (written exams at the higher levels) to make you more "appealing" to schools as a chess instructor.
Googling around should tell you what the going rate should be in your city.
Though if you're just starting out, you don't have references / proof that you are effective/can deliver results so I'd go with either a low entry rate and really work hard on a few students. Once they start shining at scholastic venues and bring home the trophies, your resume as an effective coach will grow.
If you are indeed effective, you can bump your rate up to something more competitive.
BTW, the Heisman article on finding good instructors is available here.
Scholastic chess is so freaking huge in Texas lol
it is something i am considering for the future. i am not the greatest player but recently i have been doing a lot of work and feel i am improving my game. thank you for the link shivsky.
I think playing chess is not as important as studying chess when becoming a tutor. For example, studying on all the chess openings. Understand how they work and how they can be countered. Going into deep concepts . All these things a tutor will have to do based on the student's level of the game.
I personally think becoming a chess tutor would be very educational, not just for the students but also for the tutor as well.
Could someone please post a link to NM Heisman's article? ...
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627082829/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman21.pdf
Also possibly of interest:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/can-anyone-be-an-im-or-gm
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kids-fight-stereotypes-using-chess-in-rural-mississippi/
http://brooklyncastle.com/
"... the NM title is an honor that only one percent of USCF members attain. ..." - IM John Donaldson (2015)
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Reaching-the-Top-77p3905.htm
What It Takes to Become a Chess Master by Andrew Soltis
"... going from good at tactics to great at tactics ... doesn't translate into much greater strength. ... You need a relatively good memory to reach average strength. But a much better memory isn't going to make you a master. ... there's a powerful law of diminishing returns in chess calculation, ... Your rating may have been steadily rising when suddenly it stops. ... One explanation for the wall is that most players got to where they are by learning how to not lose. ... Mastering chess ... requires a new set of skills and traits. ... Many of these attributes are kinds of know-how, such as understanding when to change the pawn structure or what a positionally won game looks like and how to deal with it. Some are habits, like always looking for targets. Others are refined senses, like recognizing a critical middlegame moment or feeling when time is on your side and when it isn't. ..." - GM Andrew Soltis (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093409/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review857.pdf
100 Chess Master Trade Secrets by Andrew Soltis
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094523/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review916.pdf
Reaching the Top?! by Peter Kurzdorfer
"... On the one hand, your play needs to be purposeful much of the time; the ability to navigate through many different types of positions needs to be yours; your ability to calculate variations and find candidate moves needs to be present in at least an embryonic stage. On the other hand, it will be heart-warming and perhaps inspiring to realize that you do not need to give up blunders or misconceptions or a poor memory or sloppy calculating habits; that you do not need to know all the latest opening variations, or even know what they are called. You do not have to memorize hundreds of endgame positions or instantly recognize the proper procedure in a variety of pawn structures.
[To play at a master level consistently] is not an easy task, to be sure ..., but it is a possible one. ..." - NM Peter Kurzdorfer (2015)
http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2015/11/16/book-notice-kurzdorfers-reaching-the-top.html
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Reaching-the-Top-77p3905.htm
"Yes, you can easily become a master. All you need to do is some serious, focused work on your play.
That 'chess is 99% tactics and blah-blah' thing is crap. Chess is several things (opening, endgame, middlegame strategy, positional play, tactics, psychology, time management...) which should be treated properly as a whole. getting just one element of lay and working exclusively on it is of very doubtful value, and at worst it may well turn out being a waste of time." - IM pfren (August 21, 2017)
"Every now and then someone advances the idea that one may gain success in chess by using shortcuts. 'Chess is 99% tactics' - proclaims one expert, suggesting that strategic understanding is overrated; 'Improvement in chess is all about opening knowledge' - declares another. A third self-appointed authority asserts that a thorough knowledge of endings is the key to becoming a master; while his expert-friend is puzzled by the mere thought that a player can achieve anything at all without championing pawn structures.
To me, such statements seem futile. You can't hope to gain mastery of any subject by specializing in only parts of it. ..." - FM Amatzia Avni (2008)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/don-t-worry-about-your-rating
https://www.chess.com/article/view/am-i-too-old-for-chess
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-can-older-players-improve
Hello to everyone. I have heard that there is not much money to be earned from playing chess but there are possibilities to earn a decent amount from tutoring. I was just wondering what sort of rating would you need to become a tutor and any other infomation regarding this issue would be greatly appreciated.