IM Milan Popovic

My name is Milan Popović. I am a 31-year-old IM with a FIDE rating of 2379.

I have 5 years of experience as a chess coach, both in person and online. I work with players of all ages and levels, from beginners taking their first steps in chess to experienced players looking to break through a plateau. I also work with stronger players, including those rated above 2200, when more advanced training is needed.

I am also the author of several courses on openings:

*Center Game: Attacking System for White
*Vienna g3 System: A Practical Repertoire vs 1...e5
*Anti-Sicilian Manual for White
You can find the courses here: thechessworld.com/store/courses/label/Popovic/?ref=8541

My approach is built on patience, clear communication, and a training plan tailored to each individual student — whether that student is a child just learning the rules or an experienced player looking to reach the next level.

Outside of chess, I hold a bachelor's degree in gastronomy. In my free time, I enjoy playing bullet and blitz chess online, where I have had the opportunity to face many top-level players, including Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

I have 15 years of experience as an active chess player.
Besides classical chess, where I crossed 2400 FIDE and earned the IM title, I also enjoy playing rapid and blitz tournaments, where I have had a number of good results. My peak FIDE ratings are 2402 in classical, 2497 in rapid, and 2483 in blitz.

Here are some of my favorite tournament victories:

Rapid tournament Aquapark 2019: s3.chess-results.com/tnr461054.aspx?lan=1&art=1&SNode=S0
Rapid tournament Dunavski Bal 2022: http://chess-results.com/tnr655921.aspx?lan=1&art=1
Rapid tournament Memorial Igor Naumkin 2023- chess-results.com/tnr792253.aspx?lan=1&art=1
Rapid tournament Dunavski Bal 2023- With a perfect score 9/9, and a rating performance of 2965! : chess-results.com/tnr790236.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9

I am still an active player!

I have worked with over 40 students of different ages and levels — from complete beginners to titled players rated over 2300 FIDE.

Several of my young students have won tournaments in their age categories, while one of my talented young students improved from 1960 to over 2300 FIDE in just two years of working together.

I currently work with both talented young players and motivated adult improvers looking to break through a plateau. We cover all aspects of the game — from tactics and calculation to middlegame strategy, opening preparation, and endgames — with a strong emphasis on building a personalized opening repertoire tailored to each student's style, strengths, and goals.

Training Games

I have done many training sessions with my students. Training games are a great way to put your opening repertoire to the test and gain real, practical experience. You have full flexibility — you can choose any time control, or even the opening you would like to practice. You can also choose to just play, or we can devote some time to post-game analysis — completely up to you.

Tournament Preparation

I have significant experience in tournament preparation as a second, helping my students prepare for specific opponents. If your tournament is coming up and you'd like a second in your corner, making sure you're fully ready and confident for every round, feel free to reach out.

As a player, I try to create problems for my opponent from the very first moves. I enjoy sharp, tactical chess, but equally value a positional approach when the position calls for it.

Experience has shown me that a solid, well-prepared opening repertoire, combined with consistent work on every other aspect of the game, is the key to long-term progress.

For younger players and beginner/intermediate-level players, our work focuses primarily on basic strategic concepts, with an emphasis on creating a simple and effective opening repertoire, tactics, principles of attack and defence, basic endgames, and developing a solid overall understanding of the game.

For advanced players, we go deeper into more complex aspects of chess, including:
* Advanced elements of middlegame strategy
* Tactics and calculation — key elements and techniques of effective calculation
* Technical play in the middlegame
* Techniques and processes of attack
* Positional chess and positional understanding
* Initiative in chess
* Endgame strategy and theoretical endgames
* Typical pawn structures
* Position assessment and planning

Beyond these areas, we also work on opening theory and repertoire, with the specific systems tailored to the player's style, strengths, and goals.
My speciality is working with the following openings:

With White:
Sharp and tactical 1.e4 (from gambits to modern main-line theory) with a big experience in my practice.
Positional 1.d4 (Modern London System, anti-Grünfeld and anti-King's Indian setups), and the Uncompromising Jobava London System.

With Black:
Against 1.e4 — the Najdorf Sicilian, Philidor Defence, Caro-Kann Defence, and Ruy Lopez;
Against 1.d4 — the King's Indian Defence (over 10 years of playing), Queen's Gambit Accepted, and Queen's Gambit Declined; against 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 — various easy to learn systems.

If a student has a particular opening they would like to learn, we can always work on it as part of their training, according to their individual preferences and goals.

Ultimately, every training plan is tailored to what each individual student needs most to improve.

The first step is always the analysis of the games. Before our first lesson, I usually review available OTB and online games of my student. This is the key to learning more about the student's strengths, weaknesses, and playing style. Based on that, I create a training program for each student.
In the first lesson, I usually go over a few games and various training positions with the student and discuss the training plan.
My goal is never instant success, but long-term improvement in chess knowledge and understanding.

I prefer to run my lessons on Lichess (study section with analysis board). Communication takes place via Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Discord, depending on the student's preference. If we work on openings, I always provide students with analysis files. Regardless of the topic we work on, students also receive relevant homework to work on between lessons.