When does the opening end and middle game begin? Is it a certain amount of moves? What signifies this?
jammo,
Do a search in the foreums section for:
converting from a solid opening to a strong middle game
Let me know what you think. And, if you have any questions.
I hope this helps
I'm not an expert so everything I say could be horribly wrong, but....
Once your position is set and you begin your strategy or attack...
Another way i think of it is when all my pieces and pawns are where I think they should be.
Lots of books on "the opening" will suggest moves well into the middle game. The opening books will suggest trades that are advantagous and discourage trades that are not. I think of maneuvering and trading as being characteristic of the middle game.
Anthony
Interesting question. There is no clear "line" drawn between the opening and the middlegame - and that's probably the best answer.
Also, some games don't really go into a middlegame. Some end in the opening (with a checkmate or resignation resulting from a trap) and some go straight from the opening into the endgame (lots of pieces get traded off in the opening).
Basically, there are several angles I've seen from several sources:
1. The opening is the first 6-10 moves. (This is a "general guidline" which holds true about 75% of the time. It's a rule of thumb, not a hard and fast rule.)
2. The opening ends as soon as one player has finished his development. (Again, just a guidline. I've seen games which were clearly into a middlegame although neither player finished development! e.g., 30 moves in and both players still have an undeveloped rook)
3. The opening is over for you once you're thinking on your own and no longer making memorized book moves.
when the opening you use is over. course thats my oppinion and i am no expert
So for me about 4 moves deep. How deep should an "opening" be memorized?
I have memorized and understand pretty well several variations of an opening known as the Sicilian Najdorf about 35-40 moves deep. In one particular variation known as the Poisoned Pawn, after the 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 I know by heart 400 subvariations 35-40 moves deep.
I have 6 openings in my repertoire. The Sicilian Najdorf is one of them.
dang, transposition
In my opinion, that's sufficient for now. After you finish a game you should review it yourself. Try to find mistakes in your play, what you could have done better, what your opponent could have done better, etc. Of course, as you do this you will naturally take a look at what opening was played. Look up the opening in a reference. If you have a book like MCO-14, that's a very handy source for this sort of thing. If not you can use something like this site: http://www.eudesign.com/chessops/
or the game explorer on chess.com. Look at the moves you and your opponent made, find out where you deviated from the book, and try to figure out how you can improve on your opening in the future if the same opening arises again. That way, you don't have to sit down and memorize an opening - you'll learn it by experience.
An attempt to answer this requires you to realize that we're playing in a very advanced age of chess. The answer is one of those, "It depends" replies...
1) It depends mostly on the opening you encounter. Different openings and different variations have different points to where this transition you're speaking of takes place.
But, I mentioned the advanced age of chess we're in because It seems to me that a lot of players who become SO bookish on openings, can be thrown a bit (or a lot) when you play in such a way that hasn't been covered in a book at all. It is in a situation like this where the question you pose becomes very intimidating, even to a well-experienced book-studying chess player.
Moving right along...
2) SO, then it becomes a matter of (borrowing a term from my years of sales experience) your "product knowlege" of the openings... You more than likely have better knowlege of certain openings than others.
3) That allows you to use your INTUITION to know when this transition takes place.
4 (which should really precede them all) Your study and certainty of just what a middle game actually is (i.e. what is the definition of a middle game) will tell you when you're ready to start playing as if you're indeed in the middle game. ...Have you developed you're pieces and castled? ("Only then, and when the center is secure should you attack", say the great masters {e.g., Kotov "The Art Of The Middle Game}.
So, I hope this helps.
Your question, "When does the opening end and the middle game begin?" is like the hidden doorway to improving in chess. As you can see there is alot of interest in answering your question. But, as you can also see, from the diversity of the answers it can be very confusing for you. Your are not the first to ask this question in this forum. Everytime your question is asked it generates alot of responses. See the most recent topic with your question, "converting from a solid opening to a strong middle game", by chess.com member 'jupstin'. In that topic I explain in some detail a surprising shortcut to what the common sense of the openings is and the resulting thematic middle game positions which sometimes have to be converted to well known winning endgame positions. I know it is hard to see when you don't have the benefit of the bird's eye view. It just seems like alot of words describing something you have no concrete examples for. I know I was where you are many years ago.
The reason that your question is so important lies in the answer to your question.
lanceuppercut-239's posts here are spot on. But, they are missing that surprising answer that will give you an insight into what is going on. After you read my post, that I referred you to above, you will be able to read chess books about the opening, collections of masters' games, etc. with a fresh perspective that will make you think, " now that's what I'm talkin' about". Instead of, "these chess books are all full of algebraic notation with no explanations, I have no idea why that move is recommended, or why White is better in this position"
If you would like you can check with 'jupstin' and 'BlackSquareBishop'. Ask them what they think of the surprising shortcut "the pawn breaks"
Why am I telling you all this? Because when I was just starting out there was some really strong chess players at the chess club I went to who let me in on the secret. I'm just passin' it forward.
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