Middlegame
Encyclopedia
The middlegame in chess
refers to the portion of the game that happens after the opening
and before the endgame. There is no clear line between the opening and middlegame, and between the middlegame and endgame. In modern chess, the moves that make up an opening blend into the middlegame, so there is no sharp divide. At elementary level, both players will usually have completed the development of all or most pieces. The king
will usually have been brought to relative safety. However, at master level, the opening analysis may go well into the middlegame.
Likewise, the middlegame blends into the endgame. There are differing opinions and criteria for when the middlegame ends and the endgame starts (see the start of the endgame). Factors such as control of the center are less important in the endgame than the middlegame. In endgames the number of pieces and pawns is much reduced, though even after queens
are traded
, one may talk about a "middlegame without queens". The key issue is often said to be: when the kings are safe to play an active role, then it is an endgame.
Theory
on the middlegame is less developed than the opening or endgames. Since middlegame positions from game to game are unique, memorization of theoretical variations is not possible as it is in the opening. Likewise, there are usually too many pieces on the board for theoretical positions to be completely analyzed as can be done in the simpler endgames.
lists three major factors in the middlegame: king safety, force (material) and mobility, although not all of these factors are of equal importance. If king safety is a serious issue, a well-executed attack on the king can render other considerations, including material advantages, irrelevant.
Material is another important consideration, Fine notes that—if all other things are equal—any material advantage will usually be decisive. According to Fine, a material advantage will usually not give a direct mating attack unless the advantage is very large (a rook
or more), rather it can be used as a means of gaining more material and a decisive endgame advantage.
The issue of mobility is ensuring that the pieces have a wide scope of action and targets to focus on. The concept is largely strategic in nature, and involves concepts as space, pawn
weaknesses (since weak pawns can compel pieces to defensive duties, reducing their mobility), and securing outposts
for the pieces.
The strategy required for middlegame play varies considerably. Some middlegame positions feature closed centres featuring maneuvering behind the lines, while other middlegames are wide open, where both players attempt to gain the initiative. Dan Heisman
noted three features which can seriously alter the way the middlegame is played.
First, if the kings are castled
on opposite wings, and queens remain on the board, the position can be very violent, with both players aiming to assault the enemy king. Material considerations are often secondary to pursuing the attack, and it can even be advantageous to lose pawns in front of the enemy king in order to open up lines for the rooks and queen.
Second, positions where the pawn structure
is static and locked, can also feature mutual attacks, since players often elect to play on the side where they have more space (playing on the side of the board in which their pawns are pointing). Time is often less of a concern in such middlegames, allowing lengthy maneuvers. Players attempt to strengthen their positions and weakening their opponent's. Both players need to be on the lookout for pawn breaks, and the possibility of taking advantage of the open file
s which may arise from them.
Third, if one player has an overwhelming material advantage and is clearly winning, the stronger player can usually afford to violate several of the normal middlegame principles in order to trade down to an endgame. For example, trading queens even at the cost of a ruined pawn structure may be a viable option.
leading to a favorable endgame is an important skill.
The last thing that happens in the middlegame is the setup for endgame. Since many endgames involve the promotion
of a pawn, it is usually good to keep that in mind when making trades during the middlegame. For example, World Champion
Max Euwe
considered a preponderance of pawns on the queenside (queenside majority) an advantage because this might be used to create a passed pawn
.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
refers to the portion of the game that happens after the opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
and before the endgame. There is no clear line between the opening and middlegame, and between the middlegame and endgame. In modern chess, the moves that make up an opening blend into the middlegame, so there is no sharp divide. At elementary level, both players will usually have completed the development of all or most pieces. The king
King (chess)
In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...
will usually have been brought to relative safety. However, at master level, the opening analysis may go well into the middlegame.
Likewise, the middlegame blends into the endgame. There are differing opinions and criteria for when the middlegame ends and the endgame starts (see the start of the endgame). Factors such as control of the center are less important in the endgame than the middlegame. In endgames the number of pieces and pawns is much reduced, though even after queens
Queen (chess)
The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. With the chessboard oriented correctly, the white queen starts...
are traded
Exchange (chess)
In the tactics and strategy in the board game of chess, an exchange or trade of chess pieces is series of closely related moves, typically sequential, in which the two players capture each others pieces. Any types of pieces except the kings may possibly be exchanged, i. e. captured in an...
, one may talk about a "middlegame without queens". The key issue is often said to be: when the kings are safe to play an active role, then it is an endgame.
Theory
Chess theory
The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played...
on the middlegame is less developed than the opening or endgames. Since middlegame positions from game to game are unique, memorization of theoretical variations is not possible as it is in the opening. Likewise, there are usually too many pieces on the board for theoretical positions to be completely analyzed as can be done in the simpler endgames.
Aims of the middlegame
The Middle Game in Chess by Reuben FineReuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
lists three major factors in the middlegame: king safety, force (material) and mobility, although not all of these factors are of equal importance. If king safety is a serious issue, a well-executed attack on the king can render other considerations, including material advantages, irrelevant.
Material is another important consideration, Fine notes that—if all other things are equal—any material advantage will usually be decisive. According to Fine, a material advantage will usually not give a direct mating attack unless the advantage is very large (a rook
Rook (chess)
A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...
or more), rather it can be used as a means of gaining more material and a decisive endgame advantage.
The issue of mobility is ensuring that the pieces have a wide scope of action and targets to focus on. The concept is largely strategic in nature, and involves concepts as space, pawn
Pawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
weaknesses (since weak pawns can compel pieces to defensive duties, reducing their mobility), and securing outposts
Outpost (chess)
An outpost is a square which is protected by a pawn and which cannot be attacked by an opponent's pawn. In the figure to the right, c4 is an outpost, occupied by White's knight...
for the pieces.
The strategy required for middlegame play varies considerably. Some middlegame positions feature closed centres featuring maneuvering behind the lines, while other middlegames are wide open, where both players attempt to gain the initiative. Dan Heisman
Dan Heisman
Dan Heisman is a United States Chess Federation National Master and author. He is the two-time Open chess champion of Philadelphia , and the Philadelphia Invitational Chess Champion . His Penn State team won the U.S. Amateur Team Championship in 1972...
noted three features which can seriously alter the way the middlegame is played.
First, if the kings are castled
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
on opposite wings, and queens remain on the board, the position can be very violent, with both players aiming to assault the enemy king. Material considerations are often secondary to pursuing the attack, and it can even be advantageous to lose pawns in front of the enemy king in order to open up lines for the rooks and queen.
Second, positions where the pawn structure
Pawn structure
In chess, the pawn structure is the configuration of pawns on the chessboard. Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus largely determines the strategic nature of the position.-General observations:Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such...
is static and locked, can also feature mutual attacks, since players often elect to play on the side where they have more space (playing on the side of the board in which their pawns are pointing). Time is often less of a concern in such middlegames, allowing lengthy maneuvers. Players attempt to strengthen their positions and weakening their opponent's. Both players need to be on the lookout for pawn breaks, and the possibility of taking advantage of the open file
Open file
An open file in chess is a file with no pawns of either color on it. In the diagram, the e-file is an open file. An open file can provide a line of attack for a rook or queen...
s which may arise from them.
Third, if one player has an overwhelming material advantage and is clearly winning, the stronger player can usually afford to violate several of the normal middlegame principles in order to trade down to an endgame. For example, trading queens even at the cost of a ruined pawn structure may be a viable option.
Transition to the endgame
Not all games reach the endgame, since an attack on the king, or a combination leading to large material gains can end the game while it is still in the middlegame. At other times, an advantage needs to be pursued in the endgame, and learning how to make favorable exchangesExchange (chess)
In the tactics and strategy in the board game of chess, an exchange or trade of chess pieces is series of closely related moves, typically sequential, in which the two players capture each others pieces. Any types of pieces except the kings may possibly be exchanged, i. e. captured in an...
leading to a favorable endgame is an important skill.
The last thing that happens in the middlegame is the setup for endgame. Since many endgames involve the promotion
Promotion (chess)
Promotion is a chess rule describing the transformation of a pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a queen, knight, rook, or bishop of the same color . The new piece replaces the pawn on the same square and is part of the move. Promotion is not limited to pieces that have...
of a pawn, it is usually good to keep that in mind when making trades during the middlegame. For example, World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
Max Euwe
Max Euwe
Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
considered a preponderance of pawns on the queenside (queenside majority) an advantage because this might be used to create a passed pawn
Passed pawn
In chess, a passed pawn is a pawn with no opposing pawns to prevent it from advancing to the eighth rank, i.e. there are no opposing pawns in front of it on the same file nor on an adjacent file. A passed pawn is sometimes colloquially called a passer...
.
See also
- Chess terminologyChess terminologyThis page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. Some of these have their own pages, like fork and pin. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see chess problem terminology; for a list of chess related...
- Chess strategy
- Chess tactics
- OpeningChess openingA chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
- Endgame
- Chess piece relative value
- Pawn structurePawn structureIn chess, the pawn structure is the configuration of pawns on the chessboard. Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus largely determines the strategic nature of the position.-General observations:Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such...
Classical middlegame textbooks
Works mostly written before 1970.- Euwe, MaxMax EuweMachgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
and H. Kramer 1964; 1994. The Middlegame. 2 vols: McKay; Hays. ISBN 978 1880673959 - Fine, ReubenReuben FineReuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
[1952] 2003. The Middlegame in Chess. McKay; Random House. ISBN 0812934849 - Nimzowitsch, Aron [1927] 1987. My system. B.T Batsford Ltd. ISBN 0713456558 and ISBN 9-7134-5655-8
- Pachman, LudekLudek PachmanLuděk Pachman was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany...
[1963] 1975/78. Complete chess strategy. Doubleday. 3 vols from the first edition of 2 vols. ISBN 978-0346123212; ISBN 978-1880673966; ISBN 978-0679132523. - Tarrasch, SiegbertSiegbert TarraschSiegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
[1895] 1999. Three hundred chess games. Hays. ISBN 978-1880673188
Modern texts
- Averbakh, YuriYuri AverbakhYuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
1996. Chess Middlegames: essential knowledge. Cadogan, ISBN 1-85744-125-7 - Dvoretsky, MarkMark DvoretskyMark Izrailovich Dvoretsky is a world-renowned Russian chess trainer, writer and International Master.He was awarded the International Master title in 1975 and for a while, was widely regarded as the strongest IM in the world...
& Yusupov, ArturArtur YusupovArtur Mayakovich Yusupov is a German International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.-Chess career:...
1996. Positional play. Batsford, London. ISBN 0-7134-7879-9 - Silman, JeremyJeremy SilmanJeremy Silman is an American International Master of chess. He has won the US Open, the American Open, and the National Open, and was the coach of the US junior national chess team...
1998. The complete book of chess strategy. Siles Press. ISBN 978-1-890085-01-8. - Tisdall, JonathanJonathan TisdallJonathan D. Tisdall is a grandmaster of chess and works as a freelance journalist. An American citizen by origin, he became Irish and later Norwegian. His father is Irish and his mother is Japanese.He was Norwegian Chess Champion in 1987, 1991, and 1995...
1997. Improve your chess now. Everyman, London. ISBN 978-1-85744-156-7 - Watson, JohnJohn L. WatsonJohn Leonard Watson is a chess International Master and author.Watson was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He was educated at Brownell-Talbot, Harvard, and the University of California at San Diego, where he took his degree in engineering...
1998. Secrets of modern chess strategy: advances since Nimzowitsch. Gambit London. ISBN 1-901983-07-2 - Watson, John. 2003. Chess strategy in action. Gambit, London. ISBN 1-901983-69-2