Max Farberov

Max Farberov is a National Master, chess coach, Chessable author, and content creator based in New Jersey. Known online as ChessGainz, he has been playing competitive chess for nearly two decades and teaching for over nine years. His Chess.com blitz rating sits north of 2600, and his USCF classical rating is around 2272, making him one of the stronger amateur competitors in the northeastern United States.

Farberov heads the chess program at Do Re Mi School of Music and the Arts in Livingston, NJ, and has coached through several programs including the International Chess Academy, Diplomat Chess, and GrandmasterMac. He learned the game from his grandfather at age five, competed seriously as a junior, took a break during his teenage years, and came back strong during college, where he served as President of the Rutgers University Chess Club. He earned his National Master title in December 2023 after a focused push during and after the pandemic years.

On the content side, Farberov runs the ChessGainz brand across Twitter and YouTube, where he covers top-level tournament action, shares analysis, and talks about the realities of competitive improvement. He has appeared as a guest commentator on ChessDojo and was featured on the Perpetual Chess Podcast (Episode 448), discussing how to beat rating plateaus and why speed chess matters. His first Chessable course, "1...d6 Danger," offers an aggressive repertoire based on 1...d6 against both 1.d4 and 1.e4, aimed at players rated 1400 and above.

Tournament highlights include winning the 2021 Eastern Chess Congress U2100 section, the 2023 Westfield Chess Club Championship, co-winning the 2023 North American Open U2300, and winning clear first at the 2025 Washington International U2300 section. He also speaks English and Russian.