Hello and welcome!

My name is Svetlana, and I am a Woman International Master from Slovakia. I am an active player and coach. In addition to this, I am also a Chessable author, releasing the course 'Beginner's Guide to Chess Strategy' alongside Midas Ratsma.

I've been living in the UK for over 10 years and have a degree in Maths & Economics from the University of Glasgow. Currently, I am giving private chess lessons alongside my full-time job, working as a Statistician for the Scottish Government.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

I've been playing chess since the age of 8, and participated in many international competitions.

These include European and World Youth Chess Championships, placing top 10 in the European Girls under 18 category.

However, I would consider my biggest success being selected to represent Slovakia at 2 chess Olympiads (Baku 2016, Chennai 2022) and obtaining my WIM title in 2021.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

I have been giving lessons to students of various chess levels and ages, ranging from young kids to adult improvers. These were conducted mainly online using Skype.

Moreover, I also gave lectures to a local chess club with a follow-up group work, making it engaging, personal and fun.

BEST SKILLS IN COACHING

I think my best skill is to make lessons personalised and suited to the students' needs. Breaking down topics hard to grasp, into more digestible information and making them feel that there is no such thing as a stupid question or asking the same thing repeatedly.

I am a strong believer that if you can't explain something in simple terms and clearly to someone, then you don't understand it well enough yourself!

COACHING METHODOLOGY

I start by looking through some of your games and having a chat about what are you looking to get from the lessons and your long/short-term goals.

Some of my teaching methods include:

- analysing your games and explaining strategic ideas that an engine won't teach you

- asking you about your thought process and trying to correct mistakes in your thinking or evaluation of positions

- explaining basic opening ideas and helping you choose the most suitable openings for yourself

- teaching you how to approach solving puzzles effectively

- self-study material recommendations

Svet99