Croatia
Last but not least in the “trio” of young Croatian talents (along with IMs Jadranko Plenča and Leon Livaić) in the lineup of Croatia Bulldogs is Sven Tica, a 20-year-old International Master from Rijeka, Croatia.
Sven learned the game of chess at the age of 4. His grandfather in unison with another chess friend taught him the game at a young age, but he joined the chess club only when he started attending school, at the age of 7.
In contrast to the afore-mentioned duo (Livaić and Plenča), Tica has been sort of a late-bloomer. While the former duo already earned their FM title in their early teenage years, at the age of 14, Sven’s rating was in the “modest” 2000s FIDE ELO heights.
It all changed in July 2013 during the International Chess Opatija tournament where Sven, as a 2037 player, won a fourth place with 6.5/9 and scored his first IM norm, beating a 2584 rated Grandmaster Andrey Shariyazdanov in the process. This outstanding result provided Sven with a lot of motivation and confidence and caused him to start working on his chess quite seriously.
The fruits of his labor were not long in the making. In less than two years, Sven gained more than 250 rating points and became a Fidemaster, joining the ranks of Leon and Jadranko as one of the most promising Croatian youngsters. Then, after a devastating blow at the World and European U16 Youth Championship in 2016 (where he lost 150 rating points) he quickly got ‘back on the right track’ and crossed 2300 once again, proving that his FM title wasn’t an ordinary fluke caused by the infamous K40 coefficient.
The story didn’t end there. In the subsequent years, he continued working, playing and improving. Caissa rewarded his efforts in October 2017 where his brilliant performance (6.5/9) secured him the final norm for the International Master, crossed the 2400 rating barrier necessary for the IM title and helped the Croatian team secure the gold medal. Ever since he has been playing in the strongest Croatian tournaments and leagues with reasonable success.
Even though his current rating (2396) is far away from his peak rating (2461), it is not the first time he is experiencing a minor crisis. We believe he will once again manage to bounce back and ultimately make a push toward the final goal of any International Master titleholder – the Grandmaster title. Hopefully, his great performance in the Pro Chess League Qualifier will also be helpful in regaining his motivation and confidence.
Apart from chess, in his free time, Sven is a huge sports fan. He closely follows all sorts of sports events and enjoys playing tennis himself.
