Chess Middlegame
The middlegame in chess is an important phase. Specific strategies and tactics in this phase are critical for winning a game. Here is what you should know about the middlegame:
- What Is The Middlegame In Chess?
- When Does The Middlegame Begin?
- When Does The Middlegame End?
- Principles For The Middlegame
- Tips For The Middlegame
- How To Practice
- Wrapping Up
- Middlegame Video
Solving chess puzzles on ChessKid can improve middlegame skills.
What Is The Middlegame In Chess?
As its name implies, the middlegame is the middle part of a chess game. It occurs after the opening, the initial phase, and before the endgame, the final of the three phases of a game. Because the middlegame is often complex and critical, many games are decided in this phase. The goal of the middlegame is to be able to enter the endgame in a winning position.
FunMasterMike thinks he is still in the opening, but FM Tani Adewumi is moving like the middlegame is underway.
When Does The Middlegame Begin?
The middlegame is considered to begin after both players have adequately developed their pieces and safely protected the kings, such as by castling. However, there rarely is a specific moment when a middlegame begins because one or both players may not castle and their pieces may not be completely developed. Because players often know book moves of an opening, they may consider that they are in the middlegame when they are no longer relying on chess theory to plan their moves.
Castling (a move of the king and rook together) is often a sign that the opening has ended or is almost ending.
When Does The Middlegame End?
Generally, the middlegame has ended when most of the pieces have been exchanged; however, much like there is not a clear line between the opening and the middlegame, the change from the middlegame to the endgame is also not very distinct.
Principles For The Middlegame
In the middlegame, several principles are important.
- Bishops: When fewer pieces are on the board, the bishops generally have more maneuvering room and can control long diagonals. Look for ways to make your bishops powerful.
Bishops typically have greater mobility in the middlegame than in the opening.
- Defense: Make defense a vital part of your middlegame plan.
- Keep your king safe.
- Avoid weak squares where the opponent can create an outpost for a piece.
- Protect your pawns from danger, and avoid isolated or doubled pawns. In particular, keep your opponent from gaining a passed pawn.
- Queen: Begin to use the queen in combination with your other pieces to attack or chase your opponent’s weak pieces. Look for opportunities to set traps (as illustrated below in Tips).
- Rooks: Use rooks to take control of open files. Connect the rooks to increase their power such as by combining them to form a battery, which is formed when two or more pieces are lined up to attack a vulnerable piece or square. In addition, in the middlegame, two other rook maneuvers may be valuable.
- Rook lift: This maneuver activates a rook by moving it up and to the side usually in front of its own pawns. A rook is often lifted to the third or fourth rank. This is an alternative to activating a rook by moving it to an open file. Learn more about rook lifts in this article.
A rook lift can often be useful in the middlegame.
- Seventh rank: In the middle game, rooks can increase in power when positioned on the seventh rank, or the rank immediately next to the final one. Watch this video on how the power of a rook is amazing in the middlegame when it is placed in the seventh rank.
Tips For The Middlegame
In the middlegame, tactics are very important. In particular, the following are very critical:
- Pins occur when a piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece (usually the king or queen) to attack. A pin is a tactic to restrict one or more of your opponent's pieces. Usually, the pinned piece blocks an attack to a more valuable piece, but it could also protect a key defender of the position or even impede a checkmate. Learn more about pins in this article, which has links to 12 educational videos that explain this tactic in detail. In addition, practice puzzles to create a pin in this article.
- Skewers are moves that threaten a valuable piece (such as the king or queen) and force that piece to move and then the attacking piece can take a less valuable piece behind the valuable one. (A skewer is the opposite of a pin, since in the skewer the more valuable piece is in front.) Learn more about skewers in this article.
The middlegame is a great time to spring a trap for your opponent with a tactic.
- Forks consist of a single piece attacking two or more pieces at the same time. The attacking piece is known as the forking piece, while the attacked troops are known as the forked pieces. Learn more about forks in this article.
- Discoveries: A discovered attack happens when a player moves one piece out of the way to reveal a previously blocked attack by another piece. When the discovered attack results in a check, this is known as a discovered check. Learn how discoveries can be devious in this article, which has links to 10 educational videos that teach this tactic.
- Double attack: A double attack happens when a single move by a player creates two simultaneous threats against their opponent. Different from the fork, these threats can not only be a direct strike on the other player's pieces but also create an even more significant attack like a checkmate. Learn more about double attacks in this video.
FunMasterMike wants you to watch ChessKid videos about the middlegame to practice your skills.
How To Practice
FunMasterMike anticipated your need to practice the middlegame. Learn about this phase by reading his article which has links to eight videos that explain key middlegame concepts and shows you how to use this phase to be a winning player.
Wrapping Up
Now you know more about the middlegame in chess and how it differs from the other phases. Although each phase is important, the more that you understand about the middlegame, the more successful you will be in entering a winning endgame.