Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
You can remove by hand, but it tends to be messy because you pretty much have to grab a full handful of chain with each hand. Thumb & forefinger on each side of the link. You need a bit of side to side motion as you try to jam it together to release.
Practice on a NEW, CLEAN chain to get your technique established. They'll come apart slightly harder with the grit & grease involved.
Yes, technique is the key. I have only messed with KMC 9sp chains, though, but once you have practiced a bit it becomes reliably possible to remove the link.