FM Tomáš Vaněk

Dear chess friend, my name is Tomáš Vaněk (born 1982) and I have a university degree in Comparative Literature, I am a writer and mental health activist. After finishing the university studies I was at my peak FIDE ELO of about 2300 and I planned to become a chess coach. However, I did not manage and later I started to work as a journalist and was involved in many successful NGO projects here in the Czech republic. I also write short stories and novels. Now I am on my way back to chess. My work on chess is currently quite intense and I hope that it will help me both over the board or while teaching.

I play the first and second Czech league for the Teplice and Unichess teams and also attend international tournaments mainly here in the Czech republic. I was successful in some games against titled players, mainly thanks to my creativity and the feeling for dynamics of the position. However, my achievements are quite moderate and I hope to reach some more in the future.

Many, but still I am learning how to teach. By the way, teaching is not my ultimate goal, I am more interested in sharing experience and speak about views and ideas. At the end of the day you will or won't be sitting at the board playing your own game.

I have led a workshop of creative writing for several years.

People say that I play interesting chess. And I hope I have some insight and know how to share it. I can show you how do I think about certain situations on the board, I can see how you think about the very same situations, and that is a ground for inspiring conversation. Not to force anything upon you, just to help you to develop your playing style.

I prefer to look together at the games and analyse. I slightly underestimate standard plans, I am usually looking for the best move in the position at the board. It is very important to learn how to evaluate positions. Sometimes standard plans are part of that process, but it is also psychology or for example some occasional immediate tactic. I think a lot about the student's strenghts and try to choose the material with respect to his or her character and current playing strenght.