WFM Tihana Ivekovic

Hello!
My name is Tihana, I am a 29-year-old Croatian chess player and a student of primary school teaching and German. I am an open-minded and sociable person who always likes to meet new people and try out new things. I love travelling and have visited many countries through chess. I have friends all over the world and would be happy to work with people from different countries as I see it as a good way of getting to know new cultures.

I started playing chess at the age of 4 and haven't stopped since. I have competed in numerous tournaments, including World and European Youth Chess Championships. I have won the title of the Croatian Girls Champion three times and have been competing in the Croatian Women's Championship for the past few years. I am currently in the top 10 women in Croatia and in 2018, I was a member of the Croatian women's team at the Chess Olympiad in Batumi.

I have been teaching chess for the past 6 years. My students are usually children aged 7-14, but I am happy to work with anyone who is interested in chess. During those 6 years, my students have won a few school championships and numerous trophies at regional tournaments. I have worked mainly with beginners (<1800).
In 2015, I got an opportunity to travel to the World Youth Chess Championship as a coach for the Welsh national team. I worked with a group of 5 girls and was the most successful coach on the team. One of the girls from my group scored the most points in the Welsh team (6/11).

As a part of my degree, I have taught several subjects to school children, which has given me experience in dealing with numerous difficulties and has taught me to think creatively when preparing my lessons.
I also participated in the European Student Exchange Programme (ERASMUS) twice. Both times I spent a few months in Austria, where I got to meet people from numerous countries and had to develop my social skills even more. That has helped me become more open and understanding towards people from other countries. I have also become better at working in international surroundings.

I believe that my best chess skill is calculation. When I am focused, I can calculate lines very deeply and that is what I always try to teach my students. As a teacher, I am very patient because I believe every person can learn if they try hard enough. I also encourage admitting to one's own mistakes as I believe that is the best way we learn.

When coaching chess, I focus primarily on developing calculation, since I believe that no theory or strategy knowledge can help if someone blunders easy tactics. Simultaneously, I try to teach some basic knowledge about openings, middlegames and endgames. I also like to see my students' games as it allows me to assess their skills and see where they need to improve the most.