John (Kyaw Lin) Htike

Meet John Htike

Kyaw Lin Htike is a passionate chess coach and fifth-year medical student at the University of New South Wales. He graduated summa cum laude from Yangon Academy International School in Myanmar and brings a disciplined, analytical mindset to both medicine and chess. Introduced to the game at age five, he sees chess as both a creative outlet and a rigorous discipline—“like surgery, chess demands clarity under pressure. Each move must be thoughtful, deliberate, and guided by purpose.”

A high school chess champion with Chess.com rapid rating over 2000, John has coached a wide range of students through private lessons, online platforms, and face-to-face classes. His lessons focus on tactical warm-ups, opening theory, middlegame strategy, endgame fundamentals, and game reviews tailored to each student’s goals. He is also a published medical researcher, with a recent study on robotic-assisted surgery featured in The Journal of Medical Robotics.