Maybe a student having (or having already read over) a chess book of some kind, which they purchased on their own could be helpful. As a pre-teen I had only looked at a couple of Reinfeld books back in the early 1970s. I met a somewhat older 1400+ CFC-rated tournament player (Bob Gelblum) through one of his brothers (after we played in a school tournament). He beat me in every (casual) game for about 2 years before he lent me his My 60 Memorable Games book (by Fischer). I didn't pick up anything much from the book's analysis, except I noticed Fischer admitted he had had a hard time against the Winawer. So, I tried using that (closed) opening against the 1400+ player, and beat him for the first time. It sure beat losing in, e.g., 1.e4 e5 openings all the time where I didn't know the theory or the wide-open tactics. That kept me motivated, if I ever waivered (I was at least winning against other kids at school), although I never did have a paid chess teacher or coach, just the odd somewhat better players that I talked to now and then over the years, besides the many books I bought (many since long sold, though). That, and Bob's gift of the gab, e.g. when it came to talking about chess in an interesting way (e.g. Fischer's career, seeing how many moves one can look ahead...). So, some sort of quality book, the odd leg up on opening(s) for a student, however early (if it proves to help him win big sometime), plus an ongoing sales job about chess itself, could help in at least some cases.
Last edited by Kevin Pacey; 06-09-2019 at 02:48 PM.
Reason: Adding content
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio.