The middle game is usually the most tactical part. Almost all games reach the middle game. During the middle game, players try to establish control over
territories while at the same time, gain material advantage and attack the enemy king. If the king is already castled, it makes attacking the king harder.
The board is still hard for long-range pieces to navigate freely, but the files, ranks, and diagonals open up as the number of pieces decline.
Sometimes, an inactive piece can gain an advantage by trading off with a very active piece (control numerous powerful squares). There are a lot of potential traps and pitafalls,
and this is where most people begin to fall apart against more powerful players.
In the example above, it is white's turn. As you can see, the pawn on e7 has the ability to promote. What piece should the pawn promote to? Click here if you THINK you know the answer!
The beginning of the middle game, where most of the pieces still remain on the board, and control of the center is important.
This is towards the end of the middle game. It is soon about to enter the endgame. White tries to trade off the rook (and will most likely succeed, since black's rook is pinned), which is not always a good idea.
Next page: The Endgame
Previous page: The Opening
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