Why Kostya still believes in the GM dream

Interview with Kostya Kavutskiy

IM Kostya Kavutskiy reflects on his chess journey, balancing competitive play with his work as a content creator, coach, and co-founder of ChessDojo. Speaking from Hamburg while recording his second ChessBase course, he shares insights from a recent training camp in Spain, his ongoing pursuit of the GM title, and the constant challenge of juggling ambition with practical commitments like streaming and teaching.

Kostya explains that while he dreams of becoming a Grandmaster, his career path — filled with Twitch streams, YouTube videos, and educational content — often distracts from pure tournament preparation. Still, he finds joy in both creating and competing, and uses his GM journey itself as a motivating and relatable storyline for his audience.

He discusses the importance of building a solid tactical foundation before diving into deeper calculation work, and emphasizes that many students stagnate by settling for safe moves instead of pushing themselves. Chess, for him, is not just a game but a tool for personal growth — teaching responsibility, resilience, and the value of hard work.

Kostya also opens up about his love for the King’s Indian Defense, his background in improv comedy, and his favourite chess book: Jacob Aagaard’s Thinking Inside the Box. He ends by expressing his preference for European tournaments over the US circuit and his belief that freestyle chess (Chess960) may eventually become the standard format of the future.

00:00 – Intro & Hamburg Visit: Kostya records his second ChessBase course and explores the city.
00:31 – Killer Chess Camp & Tournament Experience: Jacob Aagaard’s camp in Spain and the challenges of the follow-up event.
03:00 – Chasing the GM Title: His lifelong goal and the difficulty of pursuing it while working in chess.
04:15 – Balancing Content & Competition: Why streaming and coaching make progress harder—but also more fulfilling.
06:30 – Dealing with Setbacks: How he stays motivated despite losses and slow progress.
08:15 – Coaching Lessons & Common Mistakes: The mindset errors students often make and how to fix them.
10:50 – Calculation Training Philosophy: How he builds tactical skill and deeper visualization.
12:45 – Life Lessons from Chess Responsibility: consequences, and why chess shapes character.
15:00 – What’s Missing in Chess Content: Why more creators should explore history and context.
16:00 – Chess & Improv Comedy: How performance and entertainment shaped his chess streaming.
26:45 – Upcoming Plans & Why Europe Wins: Italy, Vegas, and why he prefers playing tournaments in Europe.
30:30 – Freestyle Chess as the Future: His belief that Chess960 might one day replace classical chess.