A game of chess can be divided into three phases: the opening, the middlegame and the endgame (or ending). Each one of these phases must be approached differently since they have different objectives.
In this lesson, I will introduce the basic concepts for each phase and will talk about the generally accepted principles defined for each of them.
Table of Contents
Chess Game Phases: The Opening
“By the time a player becomes a Grandmaster, almost all of his training time is dedicated to work on this first phase. The opening is the only phase that holds out the potential for true creativity and doing something entirely new.”
Garry Kasparov
Ok… here is the context: you are sitting in front of a chessboard set up with the starting position. You are the player leading white pieces and your opponent is anxiously waiting to see what will be your first move. What should you play? How will you start the game?
Of all the phases of the game, the opening is the most documented one. Several theoreticians and masters studied, analysed and documented the different moving sequences that can be played at the beginning of the game. The reason for such attention is really simple: the starting position is always the same! It is possible to study specific moves and variations that can be played by both players and determine if an opening moving sequence is promising or not by looking at the results obtained in the history by high level players having used these opening lines. Nowadays, computer and chess engines are also participating in the documentation process.
The game of chess is rich in possibilities. From the starting position, many opening lines and defense systems are available to the players. There are so many possibilities that the theoreticians elaborated a system to classify the opening lines. Also, the most popular openings have names, but do not worry: there is no need to learn them today since the most important thing for new chess enthusiasts is to understand and assimilate the ideas and objectives of opening principles.
Opening’s Objectives
The ultimate goal of the opening in chess is to put the king to safety and reach at least a balanced position for the middlegame battle. In order to reach these goals, both players need to follow this main opening strategy principle: develop the pieces quickly and efficiently!
The player with White pieces has the advantage of playing the first move. This advantage is not enough to win but if they play well, they can use this advantage to gain the initiative early in the game, by dictating the direction of the battle and imposing his will. One of White’s objectives is then to fight to keep this initiative until the middlegame is reached. Black on their side will work hard to restore the balance of the position and reach a middlegame where they have chances to win the game or secure a draw. This does not forbid them to seize the initiative or win the advantage if the opportunity presents itself! Both players must then be really careful as the game could end abruptly, even during the opening.
Some theoreticians and studious masters looked back in history to study high level games played by our talented predecessors. Their work has contributed to finding out that the player controlling the central squares of the chessboard (d4, d5, e4 and e5 squares) had usually more chances of winning. Both players must then fight fiercely to gain this advantage and the center becomes the main target during the opening.
In short, we can say that the objectives during the opening are to obtain a balanced game by giving shelter to the King and fighting for control of the central squares.
The Opening Principles
“I have added these principles to the law: get the Knights into action before both Bishops are developed”
Emanuel Lasker
Generally, we can say that we must play the opening by aiming for the control of the center while developing our pieces on the best square available to them. Some principles were defined based on this idea to guide the players in the opening phase:
- Start the game with a central Pawn move (Queen or King pawn);
- Bring the pieces toward the center quickly: they will then participate in the fight for the center;
- Develop Knights before Bishops: since there are usually fewer squares available to them, it is easier to find their best developing squares than the Bishops’;
- Develop minor pieces before major pieces. Otherwise, major pieces will be targeted by the enemy pieces allowing them to gain free development moves, thus improving the opponent’s position;
- Try not to play the same piece more than one time before the development is completed;
- Develop the pieces on the best available squares;
- Do not launch an attack before the development is completed;
- Put the King to safety by castling as soon as possible. This allows also to bring a Rook in the battle for the center.
The above principles are general guidelines, but it might happen sometimes that a player needs to break those principles to make a winning move. For example, do not hesitate to break the rule stating to avoid moving the same piece more than one time if you can capture a free piece with it! Or if you find a combination of giving a checkmate in two moves to your opponent, who cares about the principle that says not to launch an attack before the development is completed? This guideline is there to help players find good developing moves during the opening, but learn not to apply these principles blindly because the issue of the game could well be determined during the opening phase.
It is my intention to add a complete lesson about the openings later on where I will discuss ideas and more subtile principles. But for now, if you start applying these principles in your game, you will find that you will often have an edge over players that do not follow this guideline.
An Opening Example
Below is an example of an opening played by players following the guideline.
Chess Game Phases: The Middlegame
“Before the endgame, the Gods have placed the middle game”
Siegbert Tarrasch
“The middlegame I repeat is chess itself, chess with all its possibilities, its attacks, defences, sacrifices, etc.”
Eugene Znosko-Borovsky
You came out of the opening, avoiding traps set by your opponent, with a playable position: your pieces are developed to good squares and your king is safe. It is now time to get serious and find the best plan to beat your opponent! That’s the objective of the middlegame phase.
During the middlegame, the players will usually establish their attacking and defending schemes based on imbalances created by the opening. For example, if players decided to play for a closed game (meaning that the center is blocked by Pawns), the plan would probably be to build an attack on the wings (Queenside or Kindside) by moving their forces on the chosen side. In other cases, a player could plan to damage the enemy’s position in order to reach a favourable endgame. I know these concepts could be hard to grasp for now, but I wanted to emphasize the necessity of having a plan when initiating the middlegame phase. For sure, the plan must not be cast in stone! A good player will adapt his plan, or even decide to change it completely, following the development of the game. We must not forget that there are two sides on the chessboard, and I doubt that our opponent will just cooperate and allow us to implement our ideas without doing anything about it!
For the beginners, the plans are usually short-term and simple: they will not go over 2 or 3 moves deep and they will aim toward material gain or an epic pursuit of the enemy King.
Novice players will succeed in establishing more elaborate plans by gaining experience through competition and also by studying middlegame concepts. For example, if a player passes some time to study the impact of space, time and pawn structure, he will certainly be rewarded. This will also allow him to improve his understanding of the game and start to appreciate the moves and plans done by more experienced players. At the beginner level, it is not so important to start trying to elaborate complex plans: the most important thing is to have a plan, even if it is a simple one.
In the chess world, a plan is usually associated with the concept of strategy. We define the strategy as being a long-term plan based on the simulation of small advantages. But I am hearing your question: how do we cumulate those small advantages? Well, we succeed in getting a small advantage when:
- We have won more material
- We have more mobility for our pieces
- We have a better pawn structure
- Our pieces are controlling more space
- Our king is safe while the opponent’s is vulnerable
To help us cumulate small advantages, we can also use tactical maneuvers. Tactics are not the same as strategies some people might believe. Tactics are rather short-term actions that give immediate compensation to the player.
To help you distinguish the differences between tactics and strategies, let me quote the doctor Max Euwe, ex world champion, who said,
“Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation”.
The middlegame is the richest phase of the game when considering move possibilities. It requires players to have the highest level of concentration, reasoning, and observation. It is the heart of the battle. For a beginner mastering the basic principles of the game, studying middlegame secrets will bring him to another level of play. And you know what? You are very lucky, since I will start revealing you some of these secrets soon in the Tactics Tutorial!
But for now, my advice to help you improve your play in the middlegame is to try working on simple plans, aiming for development and harmony for your pieces. Try to involve as many pieces as possible in your attacking schemes. Keep in mind, that a strong attack is not a matter of only one piece.
Chess Game Phases: The Endgame (or Ending)
“After a bad opening, there is hope for the middle game. After a bad middle game, there is hope for the endgame. But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived.”
Edmar Mednis
A fierce battle was fought on the chessboard, the majority of the pieces were exchanged during the middlegame and only a couple of pieces remained for each player. There is a lot of space on the board and, even though there are fewer pieces for both players, it is not easy to find the right moves. How is that possible? Well, welcome to the paradoxical world of endgames!
The endgame phase arises when the majority of the pieces have been exchanged. Both players have only one or two pieces, their King and some pawns. Some finales are clearly winning for one of the players, others are technically a draw and for some others, the fight must go on as the position still contains a lot of possibilities for both players.
Even though there are fewer pieces on the board, this phase is the one requiring the most calculations. If a player has the ambition of becoming a master, the majority of his efforts and time would be devoted to studying the endgame phase. There is no place for creativity in endgames as they are a matter of technique: whether you know how to play a specific endgame or not. At the elite level, endgames will even influence the other phases of the game: grandmasters might sometimes choose a specific opening variation and middlegame plan to reach specific endgame schemes.
Another fact supporting the paradoxical aspect of endgames is the important role played by the King and the Pawns. These pieces were considered weak in the previous phases, but the endgame gives them the possibility to show all their worth. We will often see the King pursuing enemy Pawns or a Pawn aiming dangerously toward the promotion square.
The more you play, the more your level of play improves. Chess is like any other activity in that regard. However, there is a limit to the capacity of a player to reach master or grandmaster level without studying endgames. You’re asking me why? Well, simply because endgame positions are full of escaping possibilities for a player defending a losing position. Some endgames are tough to convert into a win and demand the knowledge of some basic principles.
So, if endgames are so complex and difficult, why a beginner should spend time studying them? Well, there are a couple of basic principles that are easy to learn and that could apply to your own games. The knowledge of these principles will allow you to finish winning games faster and will help you save a couple of losing games also!
An Important Endgame Concept in Chess: The Opposition
“In the ending the king is a powerful piece for assisting his own pawns, or stopping the adverse pawns.”
Wilhelm Steinitz
After hiding cowardly during the opening and middlegame phases, the kings must take things in hand and get active if they want to honor the sacrifice of their fallen soldiers during the peak of the battle. Each player must then rush to use their King in supporting the rest of their pieces on the board, most of them being pawns, in order to have an option over the victory. An epic battle will occur between the two Kings and, usually, the winning King is the one having won the opposition.
Other than being another chess term to learn, the opposition is a phenomenon that is possible because of the rule stating that a King can never place itself in check. Let me use the below diagram to show you the strength of this phenomenon.
Looking at the position above, we see that the Kings are facing each other and that the d5, e5 and f5 squares are not accessible for both of them. None of the Kings can advance toward the other: this is an example of opposition. In this position, the player with the move is disadvantaged since he must move his King and, because of that, will give control of one of the highlighted squares to the opponent’s King. The opponent will then be able to go forward on his next move. It is said of the player who played the last move in this position that he “won the opposition”. Winning the opposition allows a player to block access to important squares targeted by the enemy King, thus preventing the opponent from improving its position. Let’s see below a concrete example showing the advantage provided by the opposition to a player.
The endgame above is just one (simple) example among many others using the opposition. I thought it was important to present this concept to make you grab some ideas that will be addressed in the next lessons and comment on games. Just so, the opposition is referenced in the game below. I recommend you to go through the game and read all the comments. This endgame illustrates nicely all the content we saw together during the endgame phase. For those of you wanting to go a step further in your study, you can go through the variations (you can go through them on the chessboard by using the links) which present extra endgame concepts.
I hope I gave you the desire to learn more about endgames with this introduction. There are so many other endgame tricks to talk about, but unfortunately, I could not explain all of them within this short lesson.
In my opinion, before devoting important efforts to learning difficult concepts, a beginner must start by studying the different checkmating patterns first. That’s the most efficient way of improving your skills in the endgame phase.
