IM Fabián Ernesto Vivas Zamora

Hi there! 👋🏼

I am Fabián Vivas, a 26-years-old International Master from Venezuela (living in Lima, Peru since 2018) with a peak rating of 2408 FIDE. Also, I'm currently in Venezuela's Top 10 ranked players.

🌐 Besides Spanish (my native language), I'm fluent in English (C1), and also speak some Portuguese (B1).

If you are interested in taking lessons, please fill out this form (in English):
forms.gle/QfSngZqPVJJcNHsKA

O llena este formulario (en Español)
forms.gle/4ygM7aPuY2hZBkA48

I learned to play chess when I was 7; a few months later I played my first tournament and quickly it became my passion. Here are some of my achievements:

Since 2009 (U-10), I was a member of the national team of my country in junior categories, being national champion 🏆 5 times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017).

Between 2009 and 2017, I represented Venezuela in several international events (in junior categories) with good results, among which are:

-🥇GOLD as the 2nd Board of the Venezuelan team champion of the Central American student Games U-17 Yucatán, Mexico 2015. in the classical and Blitz formats.
-🥈SILVER in the rapid, individual format.
-🏅3 times 4th place in the Pan-american Youth Chess Festival in the 2009 (Argentina), 2015 (Colombia) and 2017 (Costa Rica) editions.

- ⏫Between 2017 and 2018 I increased my FIDE rating more than 200 points (reaching 2364)

- 🌐During that time period, I qualified and had the honor to participate in the Batumi Chess Olympiad as the 4th board, scoring 5,5 of 10.

- 🖥️ Three years later, I also qualified and played in the Online Olympiad 2021, where our team was undefeated in the 3rd Division and was close to qualify to the 1st division.

- 1️⃣In November 2023 I achieved my first IM norm after winning an ITT tournament in Vélez, Colombia.

- 2️⃣ In February 2024 I secured my second IM norm in a closed ITT tournament in Lima (valid for GM norms) where I got 3rd place.

- 🏔️ In March 2024, I achieved my peak rating so far: 2408, when I was ranked #2 in Venezuela national ranking

- 3️⃣In December 2024, I obtained my third IM norm after winning a closed ITT tournament in La Paz, Bolivia, scoring 7 / 9 and finishing undefeated.

- 4️⃣ In April 2025, I secured the last requirement to become International Master, a norm from an Open tournament, in the Sub-Zonal 2.3.2 Championship in Medellín, Colombia, scoring 7 / 9.

- 🎓 My International Master title was officially approved by FIDE in August, 2025

With over 8 years of chess coaching experience, I’ve had the privilege of guiding students from over 12 different countries to improve their chess and change the way they see the game

Here’s a glimpse into my coaching journey:

🌎Diverse Students: From beginners to 2200-rated players, I’ve worked with chess lovers of all levels and age groups—I’ve taught students as young as 7 and adults too. Of course, I adapt my style and approach depending on the characteristics of the student

🏅Students' Success: Some of my students have achieved remarkable results, including Top-3 places in South-American, Central-American, and Pan-American Championships within their respective categories.

👨🏼‍🏫Official Coaching Role: As the Official Coach of the Venezuelan National team at the XVI Central American Youth Festival in Mérida, Venezuela (2018), where I contributed to our team’s success.

🎙️🎬 I am also on Twitch (in Spanish), so follow me there if you want to have fun while learning chess.

Besides chess, I like to learn about other topics of my interest, particularly science, languages, personal development and, more recently, programming.

🔀Dynamic and Interactive Classes:  I strive to make our classes engaging and interactive.

🌟Simplified Concepts: Chess concepts can be intimidating, sometimes, however, I break them down using everyday analogies and key bullet points that will help you remember these concepts in the long term.

🔁 Practice all topics: I believe that every topic you learn in chess, whether is a strategic concept, tactical theme, opening line, endgame technique..., should be practiced with puzzles and games that challenge your understanding and test your ability to apply them in real game situations.

📊 Realistic Evaluation:  You’ll get an honest assessment of your game—both your strengths and areas for improvement. Let’s work on those weak spots together!

🏠 Homework and Materials: After each class, I will give you some homework and guidelines tailored to your needs. Plus, I’ll provide relevant materials like PDF and PGN files when required.

🗒️ Review lessons quickly and effectively: After each class, you will get access to a page with the analysis we did, the main take-aways from the lesson and the topics we covered. This allows you to review our lessons any time and keep all the material we use organized and easy to access

In today's information-rich era 🌐🖥️, where books, courses, videos and other resources are easily accesible to almost everyone, I believe a player should focus on developing a deep understanding of the game, aiming to comprehend the core reasons behind the moves and strategic principles rather than blindly follow what some source suggests you do.

Here are some of the things that the classes cover:

👀 Analyze Student's Games in order to get the most information possible about their style, weaknesses and strengths.

📆 Personalized Training Plan We’ll create a plan that sharpens your strengths and shores up weaknesses, covering all facets of the game.

🎯Developing Different Skills: I use a system of 10 skills, evaluating where you are in each of these areas and working on them accordingly. If you are a tournament player and especially if you are aspiring to obtain a title, you should definitely work in all these skills.

1) 🤔 Calculation
2) 🧩 Tactical Vision
3) 🔚 Endgames
4) 📙 Openings
5) ❔ Evaluation of Positions
6) ♟️ Strategy
7) 👁️ Visualization
8) ⌛ Time Management
9) 🧠 Mindset & Attitude
10) 🏃🏼‍➡️Physical Condition

📙 Personalized Opening Repertoire. We will work to create a coherent repertoire according to your level, style and strengths, focusing on the core understanding of the typical ideas, maneuvers, structures and patterns instead of memorizing long and complex variations.

🏆 Tournament Preparation.  I will give you some general advice on how to approach tournaments, the right mindset and preparation, besides helping you prepare specific games or opponents when needed.