NM Zane Nasir

I am a 24 year old tax law student (one year from being a lawyer) from Toronto, Canada! I can often be found playing or studying chess, going to the gym, reading, or biking through landscapes!

I have played chess since I was 7, competed regularly until age 21, but mainly focused on coaching since age 19. I have won several Ontario (Canada's largest province) championships, finished in the top 3 in 4 different national championships, and have been part of 3 gold medal university teams in the Canadian championships. In the individual world university championships I finished top 30 out of 900 participants, over a quarter of which were titled. I reached National Master level at age 14.

I first started teaching at the age of 14 in 2012. My very first student won the national championship for girls her age 5 different times and is currently a WFM. Since then I have taught every demographic of student imaginable (young, old, beginner, advanced, male, female, other, ect). I teach group classes as well at a discounted rate per student, something I have been doing since 2018.

I have been a chess tournament organizer, commentator, been featured in a few streams, and have taught many academic subjects to students in high school and undergraduate university.

My greatest skill as a coach is building intuition. I help students get a good feel for what plans to do, and when tactics may be floating around. Being self-taught, I also help students learn to teach themselves on their own time to supplement the lessons.

Before delving into the abyss of learning chess, I analyze several of my student's games and talk to them to get a feel for what style they have, and which areas need the most work. Then I tailor a training plan to best assist their overall ability, while nurturing their natural gifts as well. Even for 'ordinary' chess players, I help them excel at areas they may not be familiar with. From my bio "I specialize in building intuition, calculation, and incorporate my background in clinical psychology and neuroscience to assist people with emotional regulation during games/events."