Learn Chess: Chess in Three Games
To learn chess one must understand the terms opening game, middlegame and endgame. This article endeavors to explain the meaning of each of these terms in a way that is easily understood by the beginner chess player. Chess may be simplified by dividing a single game into three parts. Each part has a specific objective and specific means of achieving that objective. The primary objectives are to gain ground; create a tactical material advantage; and finally to achieve checkmate. These are the objectives of the opening game, middlegame and endgame respectively.
The opening game starts with the first move. It is highly theoretical and highly practiced. As such, the opening game often consists of playing a series of memorized moves called chess openings. Openings have exotic names such as Kings Gambit and the Spanish Opening. As explained earlier, the objective of the opening game is primarily to gain ground. This includes deploying chess pieces onto useful squares where they can be employed to launch an offensive or offer defensive cover. Often the center of the chess board offers the most highly prized positions. To this aim, many opening attempt to advance tactical pieces into the center. Another common goal of the opening game is to place the king in a defensible position. This is often achieved by early castling as this places the king at the side of the board where a defensive line can be easily constructed. Finally, the opening game also requires repositioning minor pieces (the pawns) to release major pieces fenced in behind them.
The middlegame begins at the completion of the opening game and occurs after each player makes approximately ten moves, although this is not always the case. The main objective of the middlegame is to satisfy ones blood lust and gain a material advantage. This is normally achieved through diligent use of tactics. Well executed tactics allow a player to take an opponents piece for little or now cost. "Low cost" simply means that the value of the chess piece taken was higher than the value of any pieces sacrificed in the act of taking the piece. There are literally thousands of tactics that may be employed in the middle game. Common tactics include the Skewer, the Pin and the Fork. The middlegame is typically when a chess game is won or lost.
Finally, the endgame begins when each player has a small number of pieces left. The objective of the endgame is to attack the king and bring about checkmate or stalemate if checkmate is not possible. Not all games will reach endgame )especially for beginners chess players) as checkmate may been initiated in the middlegame. A common objective of an endgame is to attempt to promote a remaining pawn. The promoted pawn can then be used to attack the king. Common tactics still play a large part in assisting to reduce an opponents material advantage.
To conclude, every game of chess has objectives that mutate as the game progresses. To simplify the process of playing chess, chess is often broken down into two or three distinct games, with each game played to achieve the objectives of gaining ground, taking pieces and defeating your opponent.
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