middlegame strategy

It seems that nowadays it has become more and more difficult to win an “easy” game. Every opponent, no matter how low rated, has a fair amount of opening knowledge and short wins have become something almost nonexistent. There is plenty of information that can be easily accessed by anyone and, with the rise of the engines, all the opening lines can be checked and improved by anyone who wants to create a good repertoire.

The real fight is almost always seen in the middlegame and endgame. It is usually here where the more experienced player shows a better understanding of the position and gets to “trick” his opponent and obtain some advantage. In fact, one of the most common things I hear from my students once they reach middlegame is “I didn’t know what to do in this position”.

Every chess player knows how important the center is. It is one of the first things teachers tell their students – you must control the center at every moment and occupy it with either pieces or pawns. It is what we try to do right from the opening – develop the pieces toward the center and take as much space as possible. A powerful center can indeed represent a great advantage during a game; it gives us space and usually more active. A piece placed on a central square and supported by pawns can pose real problems to our opponent.

Probably one of the most difficult concepts for a chess player to understand when he is trying to improve is how to correctly make a plan. We have been told from early beginnings that every move we make should have an idea and a chaotic play leads -nowhere. There is even a famous saying, “having a bad plan is better than having no plan at all” – Garry Kasparov.

We are hence shown how to assess a position and how the process of selecting a proper plan should develop. However, as we advance and our level gets higher, we are confronted with more complex positions where the best moves may not be that obvious anymore.

There are a few classical positions or classic middlegames that every chess player should know how to play. Some of them are the King’s Indian structure with the closed center, the hanging pawns structure, and the isolated central pawn, which is the subject of this article. Clearly, the importance of knowing these structures is because they arise very often and from many different openings.

In all of them, there are concepts and guidelines for each side to follow and understand the little nuances of each one of these structures will likely improve your results when you play them over the board.

A basic rule in chess tells us that in order to obtain a better position and win a game we must keep accumulating small advantages throughout the game. We should try to create weaknesses in our opponent’s structure, control the open files, weaken his king, gain space, fight for the initiative and so on.

While all this is very good and should be taken into account at all moments during the game, it is not enough.

The pawn structure is probably one the elements that we need to pay more attention to during our games. It defines the character of the play, the direction of our attacks and the plans we have to make.

Pawn structures are the foundations that keep a position together. In this article, we are going to see a few middle game positions in which one side has a permanently ruined pawn configuration.

Needless to say that it is extremely difficult to defend in such situations.

The pawn structure is a very important aspect of the game and we should always pay attention to the particularities of every position. This is what helps us determine if the said structure makes our position bad or there is enough compensation to make up for this strategic minus. For example, it is well known that the isolated pawn is generally considered as a weakness. However, it does give control over the central squares and if you are able to keep the position dynamic, then it can work in your favor.

Understanding the fundamental strategic elements is one of the keys to improving your level and converting into a strong player. The strategy is one of the aspects that make the difference between a club player and a master. While lower rated players can have the good opening knowledge and decent calculation skills, it is usually in the strategic battle that they tend to make mistakes and allow the opponent to get the upper hand.

Knowing the classics is a basic part of every chess player’s general culture. In times where modern chess games, engine analysis, and engine spectacular matches occupy 98% of the attention, it is refreshing to look back in time and admire the greatness of the pioneers of our game. There are plenty of books written on the games by the classics such as Alekhine, Capablanca, Steinitz, etc.

Attacking is one of the most attractive skills for every chess player.

Being a positional genius, a boa constrictor, squeezing the small advantages is great, but the ability to find tactics and create direct attacks is something that makes everyone’s eyes sparkle.

Like every other chess skill attacking can be learned and trained, it is not something you’re born with.

In this article, we are going to go over some very nice attacking examples in a common pawn structure, see the next diagram.