Many times in the mid game, I'm looking at my potential moves, and I can't see anything that will help me. What are some things I can do to improve my position? One thing I fall back on when I don't know what else to do is castle, but I'm looking for new ideas. Which pawns should be advanced? 1 square or 2 squares? I don't really know the benefits to either other than opening up lanes for bishops...and preventing your opponent from advancing knights.
561 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 12 Dec 2023
I think the mid game and trying to control the centre is the hardest part of the game. You can easily learn openings and end game strategies but what to do when most of the pieces are in play there are endless possibilities can be overwhelming.
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554 sats \ 1 reply \ @needcreations_ OP 12 Dec 2023
exactly. I'm looking for help haha
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476 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 12 Dec 2023
Don't look my way. I am trying to just stay a step ahead of my 5 year old. My 13 year old already beats me.
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50 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bitcoinisawesome 12 Dec 2023
Hey there, 1500 FIDE blitz player here so not much of an expert but I do study. If you're willing to do a bit of study yourself, study the various basic end games. King and pawn vs king, rook end games, king opposition (utmost importance), etc. this book here helped me a lot:
https://www.amazon.com/100-Endgames-You-Must-Know/dp/9056916173
the thing is, once you start to get a better grasp concepts of more and more end games you it will become much easier for to develop a precise plan in the middle game to execute. If you don't know what end game you're trying to create how can you create in the middle game? Use end game knowledge to steer into or away from an advantageous or disadvantageous end game, respectively.
I also must shill another chess book favorite of mine:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Reassess-Your-Chess-Imbalances/dp/1890085138
You'll find additional clarity about the middle game in this book. IM Silman does a really nice job at teaching you how to discover the imbalances on the board and how they dictate your decisions.
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @needcreations_ OP 12 Dec 2023
thanks so much for the ideas and info. I will look into this! I really appreciate it and am happy you found this territory. I hope to get to 1500 one day!
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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @brave 12 Dec 2023
Find ways to bait your opponent into opening a good position to start attacking and keep at it till a check to potential checkmate occurs
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @needcreations_ OP 12 Dec 2023
thanks for the advice!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SatsCats 13 Dec 2023
There are some excellent free chess openers and end-game apps you can download
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