CM Marc Balague

Hello!

My name is Marc and I am a Candidate Master from Spain. I have been a chess player for more than twenty years now and I am currently in my peak (fide) rating of all time with 2211. I played a world youth championship in Belfort (France) in 2005. I also won a bronze medal in a team youth national championship in 2011 representing Catalonia. I finished as the second best player in Girona (my hometown) in 2015.

I started learning chess when I was 3 years old. My father sat me down in front of a chess board 5 minutes every day until I was tired. I started competing at the age of 9 and I'm still enjoying the game as the first day I saw a chess set. It's been 20 years of competitive chess and there is still a long way to go!

I am a licensed National Trainer (International Chess Federation - FIDE)
I have three year experience teaching private and group lessons.
I wish to keep learning together!

Together with two more friends we organized an online tournament with money prices when the pandemic hit the world in 2020. We managed to get teams from 11 countries (India, Israel, Chile, Argentina, Spain, Peru...). There were plenty of GM, IM and other very strong titled players. I did the english commentary of the games during the whole event. In the final round we invited Baadur Jobava who joined me in the live commentary. All the benefits from the tournament where donated to hospital Josep Trueta in Girona to fight against coronavirus.

In chess:
- Dynamic chess player
- Good calculation skills
- Proficient at creating chances in worse or dead lost positions
- Strong over the board preparation
- Accurate assessment of positions

Teaching:
- Good communications skills
- Very personalized training plan and monitoring
- Important work on the psychology of the game
- Creative Thinking

I am myself working on a specific training plan to get the Fide Master title soon. During this process, I have been collecting knowledge and material of high quality that will be very useful in our lessons.

Let me share my training methodology with you:
1. Analyze your games to find common mistakes
2. Focus on tactics, calculation and pattern-recognition (strategy, pawn structures, openings and endgames will also play a role)
3. Emphasize on the thinking process and psychological aspect during a game
4. Homework and additional material will be given
5. Individualized plan based on specific needs, we will track your improvement

For me, having fun while learning is essential so I will try my best to make lectures enjoyable. The lessons will be given remotely through skype in English or Spanish as convenience. Students of all ages and backgrounds are welcomed. The level may vary from beginner to 1900 fide rating.

Contact me for more information!