Editing Chess strategy (section)

=== Middlegame ===
{{Main|Chess middlegame}}

The middlegame is the part of the game when most pieces have been developed. Because the opening theory has ended, players have to assess the position to form plans based on the features of the positions, and at the same time take into account the tactical possibilities in the position.<ref>Harding (2003), p. 32–151</ref>

Typical plans or strategic themes—for example the {{chessgloss|minority attack}}, that is the attack of {{chessgloss|queenside}} pawns against an opponent who has more pawns on the queenside—are often appropriate just for some [[pawn structure]]s, resulting from a specific group of openings. The study of openings should therefore be connected with the preparation of plans typical for resulting middlegames.

The middlegame is also the phase when most [[Combination (chess)|combinations]] occur.<ref name=vids2>{{cite web | url=https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Chess-MasterClass-Learn-to-Play-Chess/1192984645 | title=Chess Masterclass: Learn to Play Chess! | publisher=Skillshare.com | access-date=2020-11-09}}</ref> Middlegame combinations are often connected with the attack against the opponent's king; some typical patterns have their own names, for example the [[Boden's Mate]] or the [[Lasker - Bauer, Amsterdam, 1889|Lasker–Bauer]] combination.

Another important strategical question in the middlegame is whether and how to reduce material and transform into an endgame (i.e. {{chessgloss|simplify}}). For example, minor material advantages can generally be transformed into victory only in an endgame, and therefore the stronger side must choose an appropriate way to achieve an ending. Not every reduction of material is good for this purpose; for example, if one side keeps a light-squared bishop and the opponent has a dark-squared one, the transformation into a ''[[Chess endgame#Bishop and pawn endings|bishops and pawns ending]]'' is usually advantageous for the weaker side only, because an endgame with [[opposite-colored bishops endgame|bishops on opposite colors]] is likely to be a draw, even with an advantage of one or two pawns.