Igor Rybakov started playing chess in school as a young boy in his native Belarus. He started teaching chess and checkers to children in Russia over 30 years ago. When he arrived in the United States in 2001, he began teaching chess to students at Hopkins Public Schools and other surrounding west metro areas. In 2010, he was named "Best Chess Coach in Minnesota." Igor believes that chess is "good training for the brain" and is a great team sport that increases a student's logical and strategic thinking abilities. Igor is very excited about the Hopkins Chess Program, where there are a large number of girls playing chess, too, in a sport that has often been dominated by boys.