Hi Warren.
Good to see you are interested enough in this young lad's play to post.
Awkward one this. This young lad seems to be doing it in reverse.
Usually juniors are opening daft and can reel of 15 moves of theory
without telling you why.
If his ending is good perhaps getting him to sharpen up by saccing pawns
in the opening is not on.
This could undermine and take away his greatest assest. His endgame.
You may have a wee gem there so any bad advice now
could take years to undo (if at all).
I'd leave him alone and let him develop at his own speed.
If he is turning around middle games on the strength of his endgame play
then don't tamper. He will in time come up with his own 'systems' that suit him.
I bet Capa's Best Games by Reinfeld would do no harm.
Great games, light notes written by a man whose profession was teaching.
Capa often side-stepped mainlines (usually because he did not know them)
and out-played his opponents usually in the late middle game and ending.
I'd seek out a known and qualified teacher, someone who
has had such a challenge before. See what they think.
Oh and keep him away from anything I write.
At this stage if he gets the opening trappers bug or reads things like:
"...endgames are only played by gimps who cannot play a sac-sac middle game."
Then he is doomed.
On the subject of Walker's book.
Never read the book but will now get a copy.
Jon is a parent, so am I and so are many reading this.
If Jon, who I understand is an excellent teacher is open-minded
enough to accept that what this lad wrote is good then I'd like
to see if I too can read it without remembering who wrote it.
I reckon, without yet reading it, it must be good because there is no
way on God's earth would Jon even mention his name if it were not.
There is a thread on music knocking about somewhere.
I have about 100 songs on my mp3 player. Mostly old 60's classics.
But also 'Rock n Roll parts 1 & 2' and 'Everyone's Gone to the Moon.'
It never really bothered me who did it. I like the songs.
Jon.
Will swap Leyton Orient v Arsenal Programme for a copy of the book
