Hi, I'm Kelvin Finke. A Candidate Master, FIDE 2079, and 3x Australian Age Group Chess Champion. But before any of that, I was an adult who came back to chess after a break and had to figure it out all over again.

Returning to the game as an adult is humbling. The landscape had changed, the competition felt steeper, and finding structured support as a grown learner, not a promising junior, wasn't easy. I know what it feels like to love this game deeply and still feel like you're navigating it alone. That experience is exactly why I love working with adult learners. There's something special about someone who chooses chess, who carves out time for it around work, family, and everything else life throws at them. I find that deeply motivating, and I'm genuinely invested in helping those people feel supported, make real progress, and actually enjoy the journey.

On the other end of the spectrum, I'm equally passionate about elite performance. As a strength and conditioning coach with a background in exercise and sport science, I began applying sport science principles to my own chess training, and the results changed how I think about the game entirely. Cognitive stamina, recovery, stress management, and physical conditioning aren't separate from chess performance. They are chess performance. Helping serious and elite players unlock that side of their game is something I find endlessly fascinating.

Whether you're an adult learner who just wants to feel supported and improve steadily, or a competitive player chasing every possible edge, I'd love to be part of your chess journey.