WGM Sabina Foisor

I am a Romanian- American Woman Grandmaster. I come from a chess family. Both my parents were International Masters and Romanian Champions. I have represented the United States at five consecutive chess Olympiads (2010-2018) and four World Team Chess Championship (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019). My most prestigious achievements as a chess player is winning the 2017 US Women's Chess Championship while my most notable international achievement happened in 2007 when I shared 5th place in the Women’s European Individual Chess Championship in Dresden, Germany and qualified for the 2008 World Women’s Chess Championship.

✔️2017 US Women's Chess Champion​

✔️1st place with 6/6 and 3100+ performance King’s Tournament, Blitz, Bucharest, Romania

✔️Member of US Women’s Chess Olympic Team 2010-2019

✔️Qualified three times for the Women's World Chess Championship

✔️Winner of The President's Cup with UMBC's Chess Team

✔️Multiple times Pan-American Intercollegiate Champion and Co-Champion with UMBC's Chess Team

✔️Best 1st Board in the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship with UMBC's B Chess Team (2010)

✔️Shared 5th place at the European Women’s Chess Championship​ (2007)

✔️Multiple time Romanian National Champion with my team

✔️Won different medals in the European Girls Chess Championships from Girls under 8 to Girls Under 20

✔️Multiple times Romanian Champion for Girls from Under 10 to Under 20

​✔️Multiple times Romanian Team Champion

✔️FIDE Trainer (2022)

✔️Lecturer in the FIDE Seminar on Psychology and Training Women

✔️Coach appointed by USCF for the 2019 Pan-American Youth Chess Championships, July 20-27, Guayaquil, Ecuador 2019

✔️ Coach appointed by USCF for 2019 World Youth (U14, U16, U18) Chess Championships, October 1-13, Mumbai, India

✔️Private coach for players from beginner level to 2200 (stared in 2013)

✔️Co-Author of Sherlock’s Method - a book written together with Grandmaster Elshan Moradiabadi - meant as a working tool for club players who seek an overarching way to train themselves before tournaments (published in 2020)

✔️ Head of Delegation for the US Team at World Youth Championships Mamaia, Romania September 5-17

✔️Journalist for US Girls’, Juniors and Seniors Championships Saint Louis, July 7-16 2022

✔️Journalist for Superbet Chess Classic Bucharest, Romania May 3-15 2022

✔️Journalist for GCT Zagreb, Croatia 5-12 July 2021

✔️Collaborator for the famous chess publisher - Chess Informant - where I write quarterly articles 2019-present

✔️ Analyst/Commentator providing live game analysis for various events 2017-2022

✔️ Fischer Random World Championship Semifinal and Final Qualifier sponsored by Offerspill October 1st , 2022 -
provided Live commentary on my Twitch Channel with guest FM Gauri Shankar

✔️ Analyst for USCF together with FM Gauri Shankar for the US Open, Rancho Mirage, CA - July 30st - August 7th, 2022

✔️ Cherry Blossom Open May 26-30 , 2022 - provided Live commentary on my Twitch Channel

✔️Space Coast Chess Festival April 22-24, 2022 - provided Live commentary on my Twitch Channel

✔️ Co-commentator together with IM Vladimir Doncea for Romanian Rapid and Blitz Championships Bucharest, Romania - March 11-13, 2022

✔️ Co-commentator together with IM Mihnea Costachi for the Romanian National Championships Eforie Nord, Romania - February 20-27, 2022 

✔️Analyst for USCF together with WIM Emily Nguyen for the National Middle School K-8 Championship Grapevine, TX - April 29- May 1, 2022

✔️ Analyst for USCF together with FM Gauri Shankar for the National High- School K12 Championship Memphis, TN -April 8-10, 2022 

✔️Analyst for USCF together with GM Elshan Moradiabadi for the K12 Championships Orlando, FL - December 3-5 2021 

✔️ Commentator for the Saint Louis Winter Classic 2019

✔️Analyst for USCF together with IM John Bartholomew for the Junior-High (K-9) Championships in Grapevine, TX - May, 2019 

✔️Grandmaster in Residence for the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis 3-4 weeks every year since 2017

✔️ I also hold a Masters Degree in Intercultural Communication from UMBC (2014)

✔️ My undergraduate degree was in Modern Languages and Linguistics from UMBC (2012)

✔️analytical skills

✔️problem-solver

✔️ability to manage and adapt through change

✔️good at managing the pressure of time

✔️good planner, organizer, listener, motivator

✔️ability to communicate, work and interact with people from various backgrounds

While a professional chess player, I have started to teach and coach chess players of different levels in the past ten years. My coaching philosophy is based on sharing my experiences from the beginning of my chess career with every ups and downs until I reached my peak (which hopefully I can overpass). I am very dedicated and passionate about sharing my chess experiences with others, and that is mirrored in my teaching.

​I am using what I like to call the experiential learning method, term I borrowed from education, for starters. My idea, like many other coaches ideas is that one cannot improve unless he/she realizes what are his/her weaknesses and what common mistakes happen in their game. We are learning by doing mistakes, so I say go ahead make mistakes, get “punished” by your opponent, let’s analyze the games together, to see what happened and why it happened so that those ideas will remain in your mind for a long time. Additionally, I emphasize on won games as much as on lost games. Although we seem to remember more from lost games than we do from won ones, I am a strong believer that from winning games one can learn almost as much. How? It’s very simple. It is a common misconception that when we win, we played a great game. Maybe, there are big chances we might have played a wonderful game without making any mistakes. However, the chance that one has not stumbled is very little. I am focusing on every single one of your games to help you understand your common mistakes and following that I will create appropriate material for your needs to eliminate those mistakes. Plus, you get to be praised a little as well.


I do not intend to lecture you about why you should do this, or that, although sometimes it might seem as a lecture. My intention is to be your guide and helping you in your chess endeavors. I am focusing more on explaining you what seem to have gone wrong for you in a game. I also will help you to customize my general framework on how to work on eliminating mistakes from your play and how to improve your strengths.

​
In addition, once having reached a higher level in chess understanding I help you expanding your creativity in chess by giving you positions and puzzles that allow you to search for plans and moves that do not seem to be present at first glance.

​
I emphasize to my students that consistent practice is necessary to excel at chess; I provide equally consistent support as a teacher. Hence, I assign personalized homework after each lesson and give detailed feedback on students’ answers, sometimes giving extra guidance during the period between lessons. I am available for training games as well.

Feel free to contact me if you resonate with my methodology.

​​