Grandmaster Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko is the 2016 Ukrainian Champion, an Open Tournament specialist and a Ph.D. in Mathematics.
Mykhaylo became a GM in 2005, aged 19. Since 2011, he has mainly focused on a successful chess coaching career that allows him to be considered one of the world's leading chess trainers. However, as an active player with a peak rating of 2643, he collected the scalps of big guns like Vasily Ivanchuk, Vugar Gashimov, Pentala Harikrishna and Radosław Wojtaszek to name a few. Such an illustrious list leaves the question open to what could have been had he focused on his own game instead of his students'.
Among the most notable beneficiaries of that decision are top Egyptian-GM Amin Bassem and Ahmed Adly, and the 2012 World Junior Champion Alexander Ipatov. He has also worked with the national teams of Ukraine (men), Egypt (men and women), the Netherlands (women), and Trinidad & Tobago.
Mykhaylo also has experience as a commentator, filling that duty for the 2013 World Teams Championship and the 2016 Women's World Chess Championship match between Mariya Muzychuk and Hou Yifan.
In October 2020, he published his first Chessable course, The Initiative in Chess - a How to Guide. In it, Mykhaylo seeks to develop a thought-process to “play well in an open position where there is no immediate win”. To do so, he analyses 8 of his games, with the balance between initiative and material at its core.
The quality material, insightful concepts and Mykhaylo's engaging presentation style made of it an immediate hit. It was later shortlisted for 2020 Course of the Year.
Soon after, in May 2021, he released the first course on a superb series on calculation: World Champion Calculation Training: Part 1. In it, you can learn an ironclad calculation process that can detect and execute tactics even World Chess Champions have missed. In 2022, he released World Champion Calculation Training: Part 2, which focuses on the games of Euwe, Botvinnik, Tal, and Smyslov.
So if you look for a level-up to your dynamic play, GM Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko has you covered! Have a look to both courses below, and enjoy your learning experience with this vibrant coach!
