FAQ
Last updated: July 2026
GM Ivan Schitco is a chess Grandmaster and the youngest GM in Moldovan history. He drew Magnus Carlsen twice in classical chess, knocked out Top 30 players at the World Cup, and led Moldova to 6th place at the 2022 World Chess Olympiad, tied with the USA and India. His FIDE profile is public at https://ratings.fide.com/profile/13905465 and his US Chess profile is at https://ratings.uschess.org/player/30265182. Today he coaches serious tournament players in two ways: private 1-on-1 coaching, and the Grandmaster Protocol, a structured training program for chess players rated 1600-2200 working toward the FIDE Master title.
Yes, and you should check rather than take my word for it. My Grandmaster title is on record with FIDE under ID 13905465 at https://ratings.fide.com/profile/13905465, and my US Chess profile is at https://ratings.uschess.org/player/30265182. My two classical draws against Magnus Carlsen are in public game databases. I am a verified coach on both Chess.com and Lichess, and Moldova's 6th place finish at the 2022 Olympiad is in the official tournament records. A real title takes two minutes to verify. If a coach's credentials cannot survive those two minutes, that tells you everything. Mine can.
The Grandmaster Protocol by GM Ivan Schitco is a training program for chess players rated 1600-2200 working toward the FIDE Master title. The core of it is not a video library. You train inside a structured system, you post your games, and a Grandmaster reads them and names the exact leak holding you back. That feedback loop is what separates it from the courses you have already bought and abandoned. The system itself runs 9 modules, from foundations to tournament preparation, built on thinking patterns, not memorization. It costs $129 per month. The Protocol is launching soon. You can join the waitlist here at gmivanschitco.com to be notified when doors open.
It is for players rated 1600-2200, FIDE or online equivalent, who already put in serious hours and need those hours aimed at the right targets, with a GM checking the work. If you train 5 to 12 hours a week on your own and your rating has stalled anyway, you are the person it was built for. It is not for beginners or players below roughly 1600, who need fundamentals before a system like this pays off. It is not for casual players who want entertainment. It is not for players who want someone else to do the work, because the Protocol directs your training rather than replacing it. And if you are above 2200, private coaching is the more honest fit for you.
They solve the same problem at different speeds and prices, and I sell both, so I will give it to you straight. Private 1-on-1 coaching is the fast way. You get live analysis of your games, a plan built around you, and direct access to me between sessions. It costs what a Grandmaster's time costs. The Protocol is the slower way, built for self-driven players. You follow the system, post your games, and get my written read on them, at $129 per month instead of $150 per session. It is not 1-on-1 and I will not pretend otherwise. If budget is no constraint and you want speed, hire a coach. If you train hard on your own and need direction plus GM eyes on your games, the Protocol is the correct home.
My rate is $150 per session, with packages at $1,080 for 8 sessions and $1,530 for 12. A session is not an isolated hour of talking. The package includes live analysis of your games, homework targeted at your specific leak, feedback between sessions, written summaries of the key ideas from each session, and direct WhatsApp access to me. The work runs continuously between sessions, not just inside them. Most students train on a biweekly cadence, one deep session every two weeks, which for a player putting in their own hours is better pedagogy than weekly sessions and roughly $300 per month. Spots are limited because I keep the roster small enough to know every student's games. Inquire through the contact form on this site.
It depends on one question: are you stuck? If your rating is still climbing on your own training, keep doing what works. But 1600-2200 is exactly where most serious players plateau, because the problem stops being knowledge and becomes diagnosis. You cannot see your own thinking errors, which is why another course rarely fixes them. What moves the needle is someone stronger reading your games and naming the real leak, which is usually not what you think it is. One of my students crossed 2000 FIDE and beat his first International Master in classical chess. That is the exact jump players in this band are trying to make, and it came from aimed training, not more hours. If you are stuck, the answer is yes.
Yes, twice, both in classical chess, and both games are in public databases anyone can search. I will be honest about what that means. A draw against the world's best player does not make me his equal, and I have never claimed it does. What it demonstrates is the level I have competed at, alongside knocking out Top 30 players at the World Cup and boarding for Moldova at the Olympiad. For you as a student, the relevant point is different: a coach who has sat across from the strongest players alive knows what correct thinking looks like at the top, and can recognize exactly where yours diverges from it. That gap is what coaching closes.
Longer than the people selling shortcuts will tell you, and anyone promising a fixed fast timeline is selling something. The honest answer is one rating bracket at a time. A 1600 reaching FM is typically a multi-year project. A 2100 with sound fundamentals might be much closer than they think. What determines your speed is not raw hours, since most stuck players already train plenty. It is whether those hours attack your actual weaknesses. I have watched students log 10 hours a week for years without improving, because none of that time touched the real leak. Aimed training compresses the timeline dramatically. Unaimed training makes the timeline infinite. That reframe is the entire reason my coaching and the Protocol exist.
Two routes, depending on where you are. For private 1-on-1 coaching, use the contact form on this site and include your current rating, your goal, and roughly how many hours a week you train. I review every inquiry personally and check your games before we talk structure, because the right cadence and package depend on your situation, not a menu. Spots are limited and I am honest when I am not the right fit, including telling players below 1600 that they would be overpaying for a GM. For the Grandmaster Protocol, join the waitlist here at gmivanschitco.com and you will be notified when doors open, along with founding member terms that will not be repeated later.