Selim Gürcan: Biography and Career

Selim Gürcan is a Turkish chess player born in 1974, a FIDE Master and FIDE Trainer. After many years on the Turkish national team he devoted himself to chess education, and he is the founder and editor-in-chief of Chess School (Satranç Okulu).

Quick facts

  • Titles: FIDE Master (FM), FIDE Trainer (2005)
  • Born: 1974
  • Federation: Türkiye
  • FIDE rating: 2246
  • Olympiads: 1994, 1998, 2000
  • Books: Satrançta Ustalık Kursu (Chess Mastery Course), Satrançta Açılış Kursu (Chess Openings Course)

Playing career

Selim Gürcan played for the Turkish national team many times, most notably at the 1994, 1998 and 2000 Chess Olympiads. In 2005 he stepped back from active play to concentrate on coaching, receiving the FIDE Trainer title the same year.

Coaching and books

Selim works especially with players rated roughly 1200–1700. Drawing on that experience, he wrote Satrançta Ustalık Kursu, which became the best-selling middlegame book in Turkey, followed by Satrançta Açılış Kursu, the best-selling openings book. He developed the "ŞAT and 5 Points Method", which teaches students to analyse systematically and cut down on blunders.

His roughly 300 hours of instructional videos for Chess School have been followed by thousands of players for more than 15 years.

Supporting young talent

Selim has been a close friend of Evren Ucok since their early teens. It was Selim who introduced Evren to Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş and his family – the meeting that sparked the programme that now supports young talents around the world.

Selim Gürcan on Chess School

This category collects content related to Selim Gürcan: articles, annotated games, interviews and videos.

Source: FIDE profile: Gurcan, Selim

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FM Selim Gürcan
He played for the Turkish national team in 1994, 1998 and 2000. Besides producing many instructional videos, he is the author of best-selling books such as "Satrançta Ustalık Kursu" (Mastery Course in Chess) and "Satrançta Açılış Kursu" (Opening Course in Chess).