Sorry for adding to my own post, but I wish to share a lesson learnt from a lady playing in our club.  She has little background in chess openings altogether, but plays her best and has a great attacking style. I asked her once : But here you could have won a rook, why did you keep attacking instead? and then she replied : you know my job, I restore ancient books, and I must take no risks because I know whatever I do is irreversible. So I do the same with chess.
Enjoy,
zoo.

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 10/06/08 at 18:35:03:


Whatever advise you take, your goal must be to make clear that there is more in chess than the Caro-Kann en the Semi-Slav. Show him that the WCh's have played all kind of openings and have mastered all types of positions.
Leave him with these two defences for the time being; try to change his white  repertoire. He is more likely to have success with an aggressive style as White.
This way you don't have to condemn his former teacher. What he has learned is good; what you will teach him expands.

Most likely he usually got squashed when playing open games. No matter how much better it may be for your development if you play open games, if you get squashed every time you wont improve at all. So I wouldnt be too quick on changing his openings.

Maybe feed him some Tal-Botters games? At the very least it must appeal to see his openings handled by one of the best against the most agressive player ever.

oh i thought it was an acronym, ive seen this and i think that it is ultimately inferior and rather passive but not to be underestimated at all costs

That situation does sound lamentable.  I would wonder how much of an affinity for chess books he has (Basman's "Chess Openings" would be my particular suggestion).

show him alot of tactics and combinations which are incredibly beautiful and intricate. have him work through these combinations step by step to understand the mechanisms. then teach him some general stuff about the kingside attack, (i.e. how to spot weaknesses and exploit them, how to attack the king and when the conditions suit it)
when he sees this stuff happen on the chessboard he will begin to wonder why it never happens in his games.
then show him some counterattacking stuff (i.e schevy d5, dragon sacs on c3) and he will become intruiged about dynamics. then get him to play through some games of great attackers and counterattackers, kasparov's kid, tal games
by now he will be so intruiged about how these situations come about on the chessboard he will ask of his own accord. then tell him that you are moving up in the openings (as though his current repetoire is designed for beginners, and suggest that your suggested repetoire is more advanced and clever)

Exposure.


Expose him to new ideas in a way that has nothing at all to do with his former teacher.  I agree there is no reason to make it a personal thing and doing so really gains very little chessically.  Although a good ad hominem attack can be good fun over a few beers and a burger, it usually backfires in unpredictable ways (Now, if I only find way to take-up my own advice one day.... )


In time, intelligent people make their own discoveries if a wise mentor plants seeds from good stock and follows up with the appropriate pruning and harvesting.