FM Peter Kokol

Hi! I am Peter Kokol and chess is my life’s passion.

I was an active player between 1998 and 2012, and while I achieved the FM title, I was also giving my first lessons at my hometown chess club ŽŠK Maribor in Slovenia. There I had a great privilege to work with a grandmaster and FIDE’s Trainer’s Chairman Adrian Mikhalchishin, which helped me realize teaching chess and promoting the value of the game everywhere I go, is my life’s calling.

Soon after I devoted myself full-time to teaching chess. In the last 10 years, I have been working with many talented students on an individual and group class level. I started in Slovenian elementary schools and recently worked in Shanghai, China, where I moved in 2017. Since then I have also trained many students via online lessons, which gave me a privilege to work with children and adults from the USA, Hong Kong, and many other parts of the world.

If you are looking for someone to help you or your child improve the skills of the game of chess, don’t hesitate to contact me for a FREE DEMO lesson.

ACHIEVEMENTS AS A PLAYER:
FIDE Master with IM norm
National Champion in Rapid chess 2022
24th and 25th place at European chess championship (2003; 1999)
28th place at World chess championship (2007)
33th place at World Junior chess championship (2009)
Best U20 player at National qualifiers for the World chess championship (2008)
Three times 1st place at National Team Championship 1. League (2014; 2015; 2016)
Two times 1st place at National Youth Championship (2001; 2007)
Three times 2st place at National Youth Championship (1999; 2001; 2007)

ACHIEVEMENTS AS A TRAINER:
Best FIDE rated students: Tilen Kodric (elo 2077), Urban Cretnik (elo 2151), FM Jaka Juvan (elo 2222)
One time 1st place National Youth Rapid Championship: U12 Gasper Drevensek (2020)
Two times 1st place on Shanghai Kindergarten Championship: Xue Tian Hao (2017; 2019)
Two times 1st place on National School Championship: U9 Gasper Drevensek, U8 Šjama Grobelsek (2017)
Three times 2nd place on National Youth Championship: U8 Gasper Drevensek, U18 Tilen Kodric, U8 Enej Curic (2016)
One time 2nd place on National Youth Team Championship: Tilen Kodric, Urban Cretnik, Jakob Bratkovic (2016)
Two times 3rd place on National Youth Team Championship: Tilen Kodric, Urban Cretnik, Jakob Bratkovic, Sham Bratkovic (2014, 2015)
One time 5th place on National Youth Team Championship: Sham Bratkovic, Jakob Bratkovic, Urban Cretnik (2013)

- Chess tournament organizer at the weekly blitz "Chess in Shanghai" (CIS) tournament (chessinshanghai.com),
- Online articles and videos at mustachess.com

I would say I am specialized for classical chess and open type of positions; e.g. wish to learn ABC of Vienna opening or Evan's gambit, I am the right person for you. Otherwise I can relate to this famous qutoes:
- "Chess is 99% tactics" - Richard Teichmann
- "First, how to sac my queen, then rook, then bishop, then knight, then pawns." - Mikhail Tal
it's not all that black and white and of course I can make you a complete chess player; from setting up an opening repertoire, middle game planing (positional play and/or attacking) to theoretical and practical endgames, but do know that solving tactics is on a daily menu in my program!

- "Appetizer": some live tactics
- "Main Course": learning opening or strategy of middle game or theoretical/practical endgames
- "Dessert": training blitz games (not suitable for younger students)
- Take home: load of thematic tactics to be solved before the next class