Quotation reference:

viewtopic.php?p=159444#p159444

singular, I do not answer your questions to the particular pupil for him, because I respect his privacy if he prefers to keep it. However, I can answer the related questions for my pupils in general.



Among regular pupils, there are basically two types:

1) Hardly improves and only accumulates new knowledge, because of too little playing, book reading and problem solving.

2) Quickly improves, because of also much playing, book reading and problem solving.

For type (2) pupils, the frequency / amount of taking lessons is related almost proportionally to the speed of improvement. It does not matter much if lessons are taken several times per week, once per week, every two weeks or every couple of weeks; fewer and shorter lessons per calendar period simply slow down improvement.

Secondly, improvement rate depends on the quality of teaching (a greater fraction of analysis instead of playing means a higher quality).

Thirdly, as everybody knows, improvement becomes exponentially harder with greater playing strength. While I have had quite a few kyu pupils improving 4 ranks within 10 lessons, dan players tend to need more - and often many more - lessons for such an improvement.

Fourthly, both online and written comments can further accelerate improvement speed, provided the pupil applies (or quickly learns to apply) every advice in his own games.

Fifthly, of course, talent has an impact. (E.g., pupils reading fast and well already by themselves can improve faster than other pupils.)



Yes. Better understanding combined with rigorous application (and possibly strict teaching encouraging this) generates improvement. (Understanding but failing to apply fails.)



A pupil needing new perspectives is suggested them by me. Another pupil having the right perspective but failing in details is told to correct them.



I cannot know if all teachers can, but for me, as a teacher, it is essential to enable pupils developing new, needed "perspectives" or applying concepts new to them.



Pretty much the only thing that can emerge almost only within the pupil's own mind is his psychological self-control. The teacher can identify and point out apparent psychological mistakes and ask the pupil to avoid them in future, but the actual change of his own psychology remains his own mind's task.

Thanks for answering some vague questions. I'm reminded of the 'probe' move in Go to see the responses to them. Very informative, thankyou.