Student reviews

★★★★★5 out of 5

Slaven to me has been more than an instructor and professor in my chess journey in the last decade, he's been a special mentor. With his humble and thoughtful approach to my chess playful style, that even differs a lot from his, he guided me to become a more consistent player and showed me interesting openings and techniques in general that would match my chess personality. I would really recommend Slaven, he's a super fast paced guy on the interior, but that doesn't transpire in his chess teaching - only moderation, meaningfullness and vision for his students!

★★★★★5 out of 5

My son was a student of Slaven’s for the past year. As a beginner’s parent, I made numerous requests, some of which may have been unreasonable. However, Slaven was always patient and did his best to accommodate my requests by tailoring his lessons. He was also very flexible with scheduling. It is no surprise that he has a good reputation in the DFW area of the United States, despite being from across the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout the year, what impressed me most was not just his deep understanding of chess but also his genuine love for the game. His enthusiasm for chess is evident in our communications. If you really love chess, I highly recommend giving him a chance. You will not only improve your skills but also make a great friend to discuss chess with. In fact, I am planning to become his student myself.

★★★★★5 out of 5

Slaven is a great teacher because he is serious, strict, and caring. He spends time making plans on what will be covered in each of the classes, and he previews the games I play so that he can give me his best ideas on what I could do better. This way, he can always optimize the time we take learning and he is always prepared during the classes. I have changed a lot over the years, but he is able to adapt to how I play and what I need to work on. He covers every part of the game in great detail, from opening theory to endgame ideas, and I have gotten better in every part thanks to him. Also, whenever I’m not at my best, he always finds ways to keep the class fun and interesting, such as doing puzzle battles and using his sense of humor. Slaven is an excellent coach, and you should definitely give him a chance.

★★★★★5 out of 5

I had the pleasure of being a student to Slaven for the last four years. He is an extremely versatile teacher, who can easily adapt to a pupil’s individual needs and can teach beginners as well as aspiring amateurs and club players. He has a structured approach, a clear way of explaining and great flexibility in his lessons, so even at days where I just was not able to give my 100%, he always came up with creative ways to make the lesson nevertheless worthwhile. We spent lots of time on in-depth opening studies, general chess principles and important endgame ideas, and I am happy to say that I significantly improved in all these areas thanks to Slaven. He speaks excellent English and has a great sense of humor — you should definitely give him a try.