Prominent Trainer Retreats From Claim He Held Title

Michael Khodarkovsky is a prominent trainer and coach, and president of the Kasparov Chess Foundation. But is he, as he has claimed, an international master? No, according to the World Chess Federation, and now he is backing off the claim.

Khodarkovsky, who immigrated from Ukraine 15 years ago and lives in New Jersey, coaches at Montclair Kimberley Academy and the Spence School in Manhattan.

He is also on a committee of the federation that administers credentials for trainers and coaches, and he has been awarded the title of senior trainer, the highest designation.

The question of whether he is an international master is not academic; coaches and trainers are often hired based on their own chess skills as well as on how well their students do.

In a telephone interview on Jan. 9, Khodarkovsky said he had earned the international master title, a lifetime title awarded by the federation, based on two tournaments he played in Yugoslavia in 1989 and 1990. Khodarkovsky said he did not have the tournament results or other proof, but he said that after the second tournament, his rating was “exactly 2450.” An international master must, among other things, have a rating of at least 2400.

According to the federation’s Web site, the requirements for the title of senior trainer include having had “world/international successes” as a player and a rating of at least 2450 at one time.

The full explosive article can be read here.
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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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