Daily Chess as a key to improve the game

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I have a question for you.  Not intended to embarrass.  It is a fact about chess that most players do not know the answer to.  This is the question:

In a game of chess when does the middlegame begin?  What is the exact move that begins the middlegame?

Bobby, I must admit that you make a good point.  And if I really want to improve, I should welcome the opportunity to play against stronger players.  It wouldn't bother me as much if these "centaurs" had ratings reflecting their true playing strength.  By being underrated, they drag down the ratings of their honest opponents.  I suppose the overall remedy would be to not give importance to one's rating.

Then play unrated daily games, like I do.

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Please if you are serious about improving your game do not ignore this question.                                                                            

There is not clear cut between opening and middlegame. In the opening you are still developing your pieces. In the middlegame you have most of your pieces out, the king castled, perhaps by hand,  then rooks connected and it comes the moment where you have to decide in which part of the board you want to play. This is certainly the middlegame.  If you have half of the pieces exchanged, the game is simplified enough to allow you to say you are in the endgame.  That's means, not only after the exchange of queens. 

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A very thorough and comprehensive answer.  However, it still doesn't pinpoint the very move that transforms the opening into the middlegame.  The answer is that most of time  the pawnbreaks are the determiners of the first move of the middlegame. At some point one of the 2 players decides to execute  a pawn break.  That executed pawn break is the first move that constitutes the first move of the plan of attack against the opponent's position.

I hope this is helpful.  If you require further clarification please don't hesitate.

Thanks, interesting point of view, I will check some of my games to see how this works. I know that pawn breaks are very important when a player makes a plan. 

Do not allow the trolls on this site to dissuade you from the concept of:

VISUALIZATION PATTERN MEMORY BANK

it is real and should be the focal point of your daily games regimen.  Strong players like grandmasters have thousands of visualization pattern memory banks in their brains.

I think most players know more or less that improvement in chess has to do with learning new patterns. But I didn't get your point. We are discussing here the value of playing Daily to improve chess.

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Everyday you focal point has to be accumulating visualization pattern memory banks into your brain.  The more memory banks that you have in your brain that you have available to use and can perform in your sleep the stronger player you are. 

Yes, there are general rules that you need to know.  For example in an endgame position your opponent has to have at least 2 weaknesess in his position in order for the attacker to succeed in killing counterplay from his opponent and eventually create a won endgame position.  With only 1 weakness winning positions can be created but cannot be converted into won positions.

Visualization Pattern Memory Bank Positions are real.  The most basic memory bank position is K+p vs. K.

There are 4 endgame corralling technique positions (K+Q vs. K, K+R vs. K, K+2B vs. K, K+B+N vs. K).  Another example of a memory bank is the Lucena position.  There are thousands of memory bank positions for tactics, endgame, opening, and middlegame.  The strong player can perform the solutions in these positions in his sleep.

Last time we talked about checkmating with a king and a major piece against a lone king. King and pawn against king is far harder.

Keep your king in front of your pawn. If your opponent has the opposition, advance your pawn one square.

 

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1. Kd2 Ke7 2. Ke3 Kd6 (2... Ke6 3. Ke4) 3. Ke4 Ke6 4. e3 Kf6 5. Kd5 Kf5 6. e4+ Kf6 7. Kd6 Kf7 8. e5 Ke8 9. Ke6 (9. e6 Kd8 10. e7+ Ke8 11. Ke6) 9... Kf8 10. Kd7 Kf7 11. e6+ Kf8 12. e7+ Kf7 13. e8=Q+ Kf6 14. Qe7+ Kf5 15. Qe6+ Kf4 16. Kd6 Kg5 17. Ke5 Kh5 18. Qg8 Kh4 19. Kf4 Kh3 20. Qg3#

 

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i know it has helped my opening pay and endgame skills ,as well as studying middlegame structures ,then being able to use it OTB. I was 1778  and only played 3 tournaments ,or 1 a year. and am now 1808 ,and was drawing 2100 and 1900 players in my last outing.even my combined score otb this year is 9 wins,1 loss 5 draws .so i think learning new and exciting strategic concepts in all areas of chess may very well may be the key.i would be afraid of the man who studied 1000 d4 moves ,then the man who played it once....

I think daily games are good practice, but shouldn't be the only way you play chess. Like others have mentioned, the ability to use databases, analysis board and own material during the games may be helpful, but also neglect your ability to find those ideas in a live game. I do play few daily games at a time, but mostly I prefer rapid time controls (anything from 15 to 60 minutes a game). I even throw occasional blitz sessions and bullet in the mix. Mostly because they are fun, but I believe (unlike many others) that there are also some benefits from playing them. I like to compare this to when I was playing ice hockey competitively, we would play many other ball games in practice (like football, floorball etc.), because they developed similar skills that were beneficiary for ice hockey, but you wouldn't maybe learn strictly from playing ice hockey alone. So I think that a good way to learn is to mix methods that are known to work (slower time control games, analyzing games, tactics training, endgames, lessons, drills, books), but also throw some other stuff (bullet, blitz, daily, why not even 4 player chess, 960, crazyhouse or even some other board games) in the mix as well. That is my training method, and I have had steady ratings climb for these 8 months that I have played chess. To sort of sum it up, if you think it helps you learning, go for it. But be wary to relying on only one type of training, because we all learn differently. In order to find what works best for you, you need to try a lot of different type of methods (and preferably mix them up a bit, so you are strengthening all areas of your play). Those are my principles on learning, though I'm a self-learner and chess novice, so someone with more credentials is free to correct them.

I would claim its the best way to improve at chess if you are an adult with important time constraints.  It allows you to play slow paced games which are crucial to getting better without having to find a 5 hour slot.  Resist the temptation of using the analysis board and you will get excelent practice. Its also actually a fun way as well.

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I love watching youtube videos of my openings and pawn structures.and playing lots of games in the explorer also help.find a strong GM who plays your opening and study middlegame positions .isolated,doubled  pawns,queenside attacks kingside etc.ill also look at games that are drawn for a little extra ways of playing solid,with no holes.lol