Learn chess from YouTube videos or books?

@Mindgames2026 said in #29:

... human coaches can do what no AI or engine will never be able to replicate: Analyze games in such a way as to find specific areas of your game for you to work on, and the REALLY good ones will not just teach you how to do your own analysis: They'll go into plain English explanations of why a particular line of play was better than what actually went down. That's why I am 100% against using Stockfish or any AI/engine to analyze a game. ...

Remember this game?
https[colon]//lichess[period]org/3duJoMjF
[Date "2026.02.13"] [White "MdRaff"] [Black "Mindgames2026"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1172"] [BlackElo "1188"] [TimeControl "600+5"] [ECO "C41"] 1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 d6 3 Nf3 Be7 4 d3 Nf6 5 h3 O-O 6 Nc3 d5 7 exd5 Nxd5 8 Nxd5 Nc6 9 Nxe7+ Nxe7 10 Nxe5 g6 11 Qf3 Bf5 12 g4 Be6 ...
https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/thoughts-about-improving-as-a-new-player
After 12 g4, nobody had to tell you in English that your bishop was under attack. You were able to apply previously learned knowledge to the situation without an English explanation.
It isn’t always like that. SOMETIMES, the necessities of the position are so complicated, that an appropriate decision is far from obvious. Nevertheless, you would NOT want to decide to never try to examine the position.

It is a somewhat similar situation with engine game commentary. Nothing helpful in English may appear. SOMETIMES, there will be no clear lesson to be learned from what does appear. However, sometimes, there WILL be a helpful lesson that can be learned, based on previously acquired knowledge. For example, in connection with your decision to play 6...d5, the machine can point out that play might have continued with 7 Nxd5 Nxd5 8 Bxd5, costing you a pawn.
Improvement involves changing your behavior so as to not continue to make the same sorts of mistakes. Your improvement will be more difficult if you rule out consideration of information that could SOMETIMES help you.

@Tlilchantli said ^

This is the best post I have ever seen on this forum.

This is normal you started posting 2 weeks ago

most posts are boring but that was a good one

i misunderstood this sentence

Books are better if you have the patience and the time and an actual board. If you don't have much time Youtube video are better but a good book is much better than YT and most YT videos are clickbait with bad traps

@kindaspongey You quoted so much stuff in so many places that I found that response too hard to follow. That's the gentlest way I can break it to you.

@fallboss007 said ^

@fallboss007 Why pay for a coach who is going to teach you a certain way to do something. Learn on your through books, YT (but not for how to do something), and just doing. OTJ (On The Job training) is the best to learn anything, in this manner you develop your own style of playing instead of someone's else's, i.e. coaches. In addition, coaches leave, books and videos stay. JHMO

I still think it’s the best way to learn fast, books and videos are slow, even if it’s the most expensive

A coach provides individual training. This is not just about your talent or already existing knowledge. It is also about your personal situation in life. Additionally, the chance you will learn chess "the wrong way" with a coach is pretty low.

@Mindgames2026 said ^

But one of the dangers of looking for a chess coach is that most of them have no concept of doing their end of their homework and interviewing you extensively to determine if you're a fit for each other. The coach has to choose you as much as you're choosing them, and if he/she can't establish that feeling with you before reaching for your wallet, that's a major red flag (personal experience speaking).

I don't know what you mean by "most." I only know that a lot of people online call themselves coaches. And that's not just true for chess, by the way. Furthermore, I don't understand why you assume that YouTube videos about chess are generally high quality. Many of them aren't.

There are many ways to find a qualified coach: Choose someone with a real name. Check if the coach has obtained a teaching qualification in the past. This could be from the national federation or FIDE. Ask about their reputation in their region, not some online blabla. And last but not least: Hire a player with a lot of OTB experience, because that's what counts. Ideally, a titled coach, because that makes things much easier.
If you want to hire someone you've never met in person, who has a FIDE Elo rating of 1800 and has only played in ten OTB tournaments, just because you like their look or their voice... that's the risk you've chosen.

@DerReelle If I implied that I thought YT videos were of high quality, I apologize. I agree that most of them are garbage.

The personal experience that I want to relate is from trying to negotiate with WIM Jovana Milosevic. We only got as far as agreeing that I need a live human to help analyze my games because I am 100% against using Stockfish or any form of AI or chess engine for that purpose. But she wanted to get started with me without first asking more difficult questions that I was not having an easy time zeroing in on, like more specific goals and what kind of coaching style would be a fit for me as a neurodivergent.

I called her out on that because it gave me a reason to believe that she wanted my wallet first and would figure out if I was a fit for her later, which is an automatic deal breaker because of my belief that the coach has to choose you as much as you choose them. That ended the negotiations on the spot.

With me people get exactly one chance to prove that I can trust them. That means they personally invite me to a get-to-know and be ready to pick my brain, which will let me lower my guard and ask what I need to ask. Blow it, and I will see to it that you never want to talk to me again.

Quick Tip when getting a coach -
Group classes are very bad.
Just do individual.