The essence of chess

Do you feel the essence of chess more at the start, the middle game, or end game???

The middle game/endgame definitely.  The opening is based too much on memorization, in my opinion. 

Thanks Argo... I just checked your story....nice.

Thanks!  And you're welcome!  I'm returning the favor. 

If you can tell me where the boundaries are between these three overlapping zones, I'll be better placed to answer. Any particular reason why have you excluded the pre-game preparation and the post-game analysis from consideration?

Now, artfizz, don't be deliberately difficult. 

artfizz you do have a point. yes I did consider those.  But I also thought of the slight separation of the three that occurs in quick games.  But it was my question, and with a little imagination you could give a give answer.  About the nervousness, the palm sweat, the pounding heart.  Come on smart guy give us a profound answer.

I realise you're trying to help me - by narrowing it to a choice of three. For me, the middle game (when it exists at all) begins with the first capture - and ends with the last capture. Since there are by (my) definition, no captures in the opening nor in the endgame, these two states pale into insignificance compared with the thrust and parry of middlegame.

I liken the opening to setting out your stall, and the endgame to packing it away. All the serious business takes place in between.

@artfizz,Thanks alot man I learned something about the first capture and the last.  Good stuff.  I didn't mean to limit your choices, I have to learn to state my questions properly.  Thanks.

Oh pish posh, as they say in jolly old England.  Artfizz, you must have a background in math.  You sound like me, for heaven's sake! 

The parameters weren't to your satisfaction, so you created an interval on which the solutions to this equation existed.  Or should I say: solution.  The answer is 2!  The middlegame. 

shango7, you can learn a lot from Argonaut314 - except perhaps about spoken English. I have travelled in many parts of that land but no-one - not one single person - has ever said to me: "pish posh".

Argonaut314 calls into question my definition of the middlegame - without, you will notice, offering any alternative himself. shango7, you yourself said: "with a little imagination you could give a [give] answer." So I used a little imagination, took a few liberties - is that so wrong?

Well... I'd just like to say, m'lud, I've got a family... a wife and six kids... and I hope very much you don't have to take away my freedom... because... well, because m'lud freedom is a state much prized within the realm of civilized society. (slips into Olivier impression) It is a bond wherewith the savage man may charm the outward hatchments of his soul, and soothe the troubled breast into a magnitude of quiet. It is most precious as a blessed balm, the saviour of princes, the harbinger of happiness, yea, the very stuff and pith of all we hold most dear. What frees the prisoner in his lonely cell, chained within the bondage of rude walls, far from the owl of Thebes? What fires and stirs the woodcock in his springe or wakes the drowsy apricot betides? What goddess doth the storm toss'd mariner offer her most tempestuous prayers to? Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! ( http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode03.htm)

Spoken British English, perhaps, artfizz, but I consider myself quite adept in the use of American English.  I concede the "pish posh" point.

However... what in the world has your quote to do with... well, anything?

As for calling your definition into question, I think you need to look more closely.  I merely implied you were imposing overly strict parameters.  I think shango7 gave ample information for a conclusion to be formed.  So there. 

1. So I used a little imagination, took a few liberties - is that so wrong? [TYPICAL APPEAL AGAINST OPPRESSION!]

2. Well... I'd just like to say, m'lud, I've got a family... a wife and six kids... and I hope very much you don't have to take away my freedom ... Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! [The defendant's final statement before the judge passes sentence. Also a nod to the First Amendment - the guarantee to freedom of expression.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XawAhUn9mZY

... before this thread was so rudely hijacked!

See ya!!

The middle game tests your knowledge of chess play.

Did you ever watch that Father Ted episode with the three Elvis's (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0578505/)? A chess game reminds me of those three ages of Elvis:

The middle game represents the boyish Elvis - impetuous, wild, unpredictable.

The end game mirrors Elvis at his peak: assured, decisive, focussed.

The opening reflects the later Elvis: going through the motions, same old tired routines, but the magic just wasn't there anymore.

artfizz you continue to crack me up!!!!!

Hey artfizz, why do you feel that the opening is empty or not much???

The real reason is that I don't know any openings. I can't identify any opening by name or play 3 or 4 moves consistently. With white, I play d4 - that's it. With black, I play d6 - or mess about. Since my opening repertoire is so limited, I blame the opening for being boring.

On top of that, openings seem to require great precision and memorisation. The other phases of the game have more easily graspable tactics and principles, in my opinion.