The majority of chess players have a basic understanding of how to play the opening. They have difficulty grasping the middle-game plans since they are not as easy as the opening ideas of developing pieces, putting the king to safety, and so on.
After reading this few tips, you will have a better understanding of the most crucial middle-game principles.
1. Arrange your attacking material in a central location.
The fact that the centerpieces control a lot more squares than the rest of the game is well recognized. When working with knights, this is a very crucial rule to remember. When centered, the knights can control up to 8 squares, but only 2 squares if cornered.
Bishops can be particularly effective when attacking from the flank. They are more mobile in the center, however, and control both sides of the board. The queen is in the same boat. Bishops and queens, as well as knights, should be centralized if it is safe.
White's pieces have been centered.
Fischer, Robert James - Sholomson, Steven 1-0
USA Juniors
1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bc4 O-O 6.O-O
2. Yes, you can exchange your flank pawns for center pawns.
Central pawns are often thought to be more valuable than flank pawns. This is due to the fact that central pawns allow you to control critical central squares (d4-d5-e4-e5) that can be utilized to support pieces and launch a strong offensive not just in the center but also on the king's or queen's side. Central pawns provide room and boost piece mobility at the same time.
As a result, it is not a good idea to trade your central pawns for the flank pawns of your opponent. In fact, you should swap your flank pawns for your opponent's center pawns.
With e-d-c pawns, White should play fxe3 to construct a powerful pawn core.
White to move.
Tip:
It is necessary to have a strong positional understanding in order to play successfully in the middle games. We recommend that you replay as many middle games as possible. Start by downloading the good chess database for you.
Voted 10 best middle games of all times.
Alexander Alekhine vs Fred Dewhurst Yates
London, England 12 Jun 1922
1-0
Mikhail Botvinnik vs Milan Vidmar
Nottingham, England 25 Jun 1936
1-0
Reuben Fine vs Mikhail Botvinnik
AVRO, The Netherlands 6 Nov 1938
1-0
Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais vs Alexander McDonnell
London, UK 1834
1-0
Emanuel Lasker vs Mikhail Botvinnik
Nottingham, England 20 Jun 1936
1/2-1/2
Emanuel Lasker vs Siegbert Tarrasch
St. Petersburg, Russia 14 May 1914
1-0
Aron Nimzowitsch vs Siegbert Tarrasch
St. Petersburg, Russia 28 Apr 1914
0-1
Akiba Rubinstein vs Georg Salwe
Lodz, Poland, 1908
1-0
Siegbert Tarrasch vs Allies
Naples, Italy, 1914
1-0
Wolfgang Unzicker vs Robert James Fischer
Varna Olympiad Final, Bulgaria, Oct 1962
0-1
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You must have a defined study strategy if you want to increase your chess skill. If you want to advance dramatically at chess, you must focus on all of the game's features in a methodical manner:
Opening technique. Pick our free 52 best openings and learn them.
Attacking skills. Checkout all Magnus Carlsen Games.
Tactics – Obviously Garry Kasparov
Positional play – If you learn from Karpov, you won’t miss anything
Endgame technique. José Raúl Capablanca – “The Chess Machine” will teach you enough.
Classical games analysis – Study from Correspondence chess players. Download our OM Correspondence chess database and start with 2 million games.
3. Stay away from pawn flaws.
A pawn weakness can offer your opponent an immediate advantage and make the game easy for him. That is something that can convert a game that is otherwise even into a loss. You must take care of the pawn structure from the beginning to the middle game to avoid endgame problems.
Avoid pawns that are duplicated, backward, or solitary.
Both white and black have major pawn deficits in the scenario below. White has isolated pieces, while black has doubled and backward pawns.
White to move.
4. Make sure your position doesn't have any weak squares.
A square that cannot be protected by a pawn is known as a weak square. Your weak squares are ideal prospects for creating powerful outposts for your opponent's pieces. The weak square is frequently more troublesome the closer it is to your king's position or the center. Always be cautious when advancing pawns, as this is what causes the weak squares. Pawns are unable to return to their original position.
White has a weak f3 square directly next to his king's position in the diagram below. The black knight and queen will be able to exploit it soon to create mating threats.
Black to move
5. Always use a knight to block your opponent's isolated pawn.
Because it supports pieces and gives extra space, an isolated pawn is a formidable weapon that your opponent can employ to launch a forceful attack. Another risk of isolated pawns is that they can be pushed forward at the wrong time, resulting in a slew of issues. To avoid problems, it's critical to blockade the opponent's isolated pawn at all times.
The knight is, without a doubt, the best material for this purpose.
Black to move
6. With your rooks, occupy open files.
It's no secret that rooks prefer to operate with open files.
If an open file becomes available, your first instinct should be to occupy it with your rook. Double your rooks on the open file as your following action. You can occupy a semi-open file that you can force open later if there are no open files available.
White has a significant positional advantage in the position below because he controls the open file, which is the most important part of the position.
White to move
7. Keep the bishop duo together.
In most circumstances, the bishop pair is extremely powerful. The two knights may be stronger than a bishop pair only if the position is completely locked up. In the opening or early middle game, don't give away one of your bishops solely to create doubled pawns in your opponent's pawn structure. In most circumstances, the bishop pair's attacking power outweighs the pawn structure flaws.
Due to the ownership of the bishop pair, white has a significant positional advantage in the position below.
White to move
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