Key Principles of the Chess Middlegame

These days, every serious chess player comes armed with extensive opening knowledge. This makes it very difficult to gain a winning advantage via better opening preparation alone. Instead, the vast majority of the time, both players will emerge from the opening with a playable position, and the winner will be whoever can outplay their opponent in the chess middlegame.

Playing the middlegame strongly can result in more favorable endgames, or even securing victory before the endgame is reached. The middlegame is where most games are decided.

In this article you will learn:

• The most important chess middlegame principles.
• Examples of how top players gained a decisive advantage through superior chess middlegame understanding.
• Recommended resources to improve your own chess middlegame play.

What Is The Chess Middlegame?

The Austrian chess master Rudolf Spielmann once said: “Play the opening like a book, the middlegame like a magician, and the endgame like a machine.”

If indeed the middlegame is where the “magic” of chess resides, then we need to know the method by which it works. Like any parlour trick, it is only “magic” to the untrained eye. Through study and practice, you too can become a middlegame magician.

Related: Why The Chess Middlegame Can Take You To The Next Level.

Elements Of The Chess Middlegame

One of the best ways to assess any chess position is to answer the question: which player is better, and why?

Here are some of the most essential elements that factor into the overall evaluation in the chess middlegame.

Material

One of the first things that beginners are taught is the relative value of the different chess pieces. This helps understand which trades are favorable and which are not.

The following points scale is commonly used:

• Pawns are worth 1 point.
• Knights and bishops are each worth 3 points.
• Rooks are worth 5 points.
• The queen is worth 9 points.

This simple scale often works well in practice. Even advanced chess players frequently rely on it when making tactical calculations.

• Most of the time, gaining both of your opponent’s bishops (3 points + 3 points = 6 points) in exchange for one of your rooks (5 points) is a favorable trade. 
• Similarly, if you can win your opponent’s queen (9 points) at the cost of a rook and a knight (5 points + 3 points = 8 points), then you should usually go for it.

However, chess is a complex game! Part of becoming a stronger chess player is knowing when to make exceptions to general rules. For example, there are times when a bishop is more valuable than a rook.

That exact situation arose in Euwe vs. Flohr, 1939. There, White played the very strong 22. Rc5! - a move which wins a tempo against the Black queen. However, this move would not come to mind if White were playing purely on the basis of the material point scale.

Black has the option of capturing the White rook with 22. …Bxc5, where Black would win the White rook (5 points) in exchange for their bishop (3 points), which would seem to be a favorable trade. However, this would leave Black critically weak on the dark squares around his king. Black would probably end up getting checkmated with the White queen coming eventually to g7. Understanding this, Black did not capture the rook. However, White still went on to win the game.

The lesson to take from this example is: material is important, but which pieces are stronger than others always depends on the position.

Related: Unlock the power of sacrificing material for long-term compensation with Merijn van Delft’s Mastering Positional Sacrifices.

Pawn Structures

François-André Danican Philidor, one of the leading chess masters of the 18th century, famously opined that “pawns are the soul of chess”. Indeed, the arrangement of the pawns is crucial to the chess middlegame.

• Weak pawns can become targets for the opponent.
• Strong pawns can anchor pieces deep within the enemy position.
• Key pawn breaks can open dangerous attacking lines.
• …and so on.

Some pawn structures are characteristic of certain openings. These “early middlegame” positions can be considered an extension of opening study, because the standard plans for each side can be prepared in advance. The Maroczy Bind pawn structure is a good example.

Other pawn structures can arise from many different openings. Strong chess players can recognize these pawn structures when they occur and understand how it affects each player’s plans during the chess middlegame.

One such structure is the isolated queen’s pawn, an example of which is given below. White has an “isolated” pawn on d4. This pawn cannot be defended by another White pawn on an adjacent file because White’s c-pawn and e-pawn have both left the board.

This results in contrasting objectives for the two sides.

• White (the side with the isolated queen’s pawn) has a space advantage. They should generally look to attack Black’s position with active piece play and avoid trades. 
• Black (the side facing the isolated queen’s pawn) ought to know that White’s isolated pawn will become weaker as more pieces are traded. Therefore, Black ought to seek trades and aim for an endgame.

Related: Discover more about isolated pawn positions with Isolani Strategy.

Another vital pawn structure is the queenside majority. The side with the queenside majority can aim to create a passed pawn, thus introducing the threat of promoting the pawn on the opponent’s back rank.

A perfect illustration of how to play with the queenside majority arose in Botvinnik vs. Kmoch, 1934. The below diagram from the game highlights White’s 3 vs. 2 queenside majority.

Over the next few moves, Botvinnik arranged his forces to advance his c-pawn to c6.

It is instructive to note exactly how he went about this:

• Supporting pawn on b5.
• Knight on e5.
• Bishop on d7.
• Rook on c1.

All of these elements combined to enable White’s advance of his queenside majority with decisive effect. Black soon resigned.

Related: Learn from the sixth World Champion with Botvinnik: One Hundred Selected Games.

Piece Activity

If pawns are the soul of chess, then the pieces are the flesh and blood that make the position come to life.

Much of the struggle in the chess middlegame surrounds the fight for the initiative. Whichever side can seize the initiative by creating threats which provoke the opponent into reacting will tend to have the better game. It is well known that it is easier to attack than to defend!

In the below position, material is equal and both players have a solid pawn structure. However, White has an overwhelming advantage due to their vastly superior piece activity.

• All of White’s forces are developed and aggressively-placed.
• Four of Black’s pieces are still on the back rank.

It is White to move. It may not be easy to see a clear way for White to convert their activity advantage into material gain or checkmate. However, in such positions White can proceed by:

• Continuing to ramp up their activity advantage with threats, and;
• Not allowing Black time to develop their pieces.

In the game, White did this with Nd6, creating a threat against Black’s undefended light-squared bishop on c8. Black replied with the natural …Bd7, whereupon White moved forward with their other knight via Ne5.

In just two moves, White’s activity advantage has turned into a concrete win of material. There is no good way for Black to defend their f7 pawn. Once that pawn falls, Black’s entire position collapses.

King Safety

One thing that distinguishes the middlegame from the endgame is the relevance of king safety.

• In the middlegame, it is best practice to keep the king protected, often behind a wall of its own pawns. This is often brought about by castling.
• In the endgame, there are fewer pieces remaining on the board, meaning that the king is in less danger of being checkmated. At this point, the king should emerge from its shelter and join the battle.

In the following position, White has just played Qg4, offering to trade queens. Should Black accept the trade with …Qxg4, or should Black avoid the queen exchange?

Although Black could win a pawn with …Qxg4 followed by …Rxd5, Black should instead avoid the queen trade. 

This is because White has severe king safety trouble thanks to the compromised pawn structure in front of their king. White is offering the queen trade because they would rather play an endgame down a pawn than risk getting checkmated, or lose material involving a tactic that exploits their king’s open position.

Transition To The Endgame

Throughout the middlegame, you must stay aware of the possibility of trading pieces and entering into an endgame. As the most powerful piece on the chess board, the decision to trade queens is particularly important.

Our example this time is from Alekhine vs. Gilg, 1926. Black has an extra three pawns, and the White king is very exposed. It is Black to move. How should he continue?

To find Black’s next move requires a good level of chess middlegame understanding:

• Although White’s king seems to be in danger, there is no immediate way to checkmate it. 
• Meanwhile, White has his own threats against the Black king along the h-file.

For these reasons, Black played …Qh6!, essentially forcing the trade of queens. After the game continuation: Qxh6 gxh6, Rxh6, Black remained two pawns up in an endgame. More importantly, Black extinguished all of White’s counterplay.

Although it took another 30+ moves, Black went on to win comfortably. This game bears an important lesson: even when you are attacking, consider the possibility of transitioning into a favorable endgame.

Of course, it is one thing to understand which endgames are theoretically “good” or “bad”. It is quite another to actually display strong endgame technique! This is why it is so important to work on all aspects of your game.

Related: Improve your endgame play with Jan Timman’s The Art of the Endgame.

Next Steps: The Chess Middlegame

The middlegame is perhaps the most challenging phase of chess to master. 

• Unlike the opening, the chess middlegame cannot be memorized. 
• Unlike the endgame, the middlegame does not have “theoretical” positions to rely on.

Instead, the middlegame usually contains a combination of competing factors to take into account. Strong players must weigh these against one another to come up with the best plans and the best moves. Improving at the chess middlegame is not easy, but if you take on the challenge, you are sure to be rewarded!

To get better at the middlegame, take your pick from our wide range of chess strategy books. There you will find a multitude of great resources to take your chess middlegame to the next level.