I was born in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegowina, formerly Yugoslavia). Most people know a little about this city except that it had hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics and had withstood a devastating 1992-95 war.
However, it is my duty to mention that Sarajevo is known for some interesting chess facts:
- host of the traditional Bosnia Chess Tournament
- world-class chess player Ivan Sokolov was born and bred in Sarajevo
- Igor Zugic, current chess champion of Canada was born in Sarajevo
Back in 80's, chess was popular among kids. We had no choice; video games and internet didn't exist at that time. My apartment was very close to the chess club "Bosnia" where I was spending most of my junior days playing with my friends. The club organized many tournaments for juniors so that it didn't take too long to get hooked. I guess, around that time I became fascinated with the game, and that fascination is still with me today.
I immigrated to Toronto in January 1999. Considering the fact that I fled the war, and was living for 6 years as a refugee in Germany, in Toronto I started to feel free and be able to plan my future somehow.
I am married to a fantastic portuguese woman named Sofia. We have two sons Mateo, born in 2005, and Marco, born in 2007. One of them will certainly be the next World Champion. Why? Well, because they'll have the best chess teacher in the world!
I play chess whenever I get enough spare time. I often play in Toronto tournaments, and online at playchess.com. My current FIDE rating is 2201, and my current CFC rating is 2255. I am a chess teacher, currently giving private lessons, and as part of Chess 'n Math Association team.
As far as my other interests go, I am a web designer and own a web design company in Toronto.
I also like to learn new languages. Living in different parts of the world and meeting different people gave me that opportunity. I speak four languages fluently, Serbo-Croatian (my mother tongue), English, German, and Italian. I can understand some Portuguese, but honestly, it is solely based on daily conversations between Sofia and kids. Let's say, I can have a decent conversation with a portuguese toddler :-)