Individual Lessons with Jonathan O’Connor
INDIVIDUAL ONLINE LESSONS WITH JONATHAN O’CONNOR
Chess Bud Partner, Coach & Irish Senior Champion
Hi there,
My name is Jonathan O’Connor. I am a highly experienced chess player and trainer. To find out more about my chess adventure to date, see my bio below!
I am available for private online or in-person lessons from Mondays to Fridays and out of normal working hours by arrangement.
If you would like to book a lesson with me, I’d be delighted to hear from you. Get in touch by email or why not fill out a New Student Form at and I will get in touch with you!
You can find the form at the following link: https://chessbud.ie/service/new-student-form/
My rate is 60 Euros per 60 minute session and 90 Euros per 90 minute session.
I accept students of all levels and will work out the best training program to get you to the next level.
So who am I anyway, when I am at home 🙂
I learned the game at the old age of 14. There were no coaches or internet in those days, but I was close to three libraries, and over the next two years, I read about 50 chess books from cover to cover. To maximise my learning time, I taught myself to read while walking home the 3km from school each day. This was a risky business given the number of telegraph poles on the pavements. By the time I left school I was Leinster U-19 champion, and I was playing in the top league in Irish chess.
I was in the top 20 in Irish chess for about two decades. I started playing correspondence chess in 2000, and after achieving the Correspondence Chess International Master title, I stopped playing, as it was taking up too much time.
In 2010, I became chairperson of the Irish Chess Union, which gave me the opportunity to meet many of my chess heroes, including Garry Kasparov, Veselin Topalov and Nigel Short.
I was captain of the Irish Open team at the Tromso and Baku Olympiads and in 2022 I was appointed as FIDE delegate for Ireland, when I attended the Chennai Olympiad.
I am currently the Over-50 Irish champion, this being the third time I have won the title, and the only person to have won it more than once.
I believe in a student focused approach to coaching. One size fits all does not work for chess improvement.
Outside of chess, I have been a software developer for more than 30 years, working with German clients for the last 20. I now live in rural Ireland, where along with a fibre internet connection, I live happily with my wife, dog, two cats and five alpacas!
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Let’s play chess!
Jonathan
