Chess Middlegame Strategies Volume 2

"Opening meets Middlegame"

In modern chess practice, the theory of the opening oft en stretches into the middlegame, sometimes quite deeply. When players choose particular opening variations, they are in essence deciding on the type of middlegame in which they would like to fight their opponents.

In this second volume of my “Chess Middlegame Strategies” series I have decided to focus on this connection between the opening and the middlegame. I have selected different themes from popular openings and examined the resulting middlegames, trying to off er a sort of user manual to guide readers through these middlegames. I have also offered some ideas on the theory of the different openings. The 30 games in this book cover a wide range of different middlegame types, so I hope there is something for everyone and that studying this book will enhance readers’ understanding of middlegame strategies.

Only one chapter in this book, “Knight Tales”, is not related to a particular opening. It concentrates on the middlegame theme of knights versus bishops. Originally I had planned to present much more pure middlegame material, but sometimes in the work process we adjust the original plan and, well... this book is the product!

Naturally I still have this pure middlegame material in my work database and I do not exclude the possibility that volume three may arrive around the end of 2018.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this book and the game selection.

Ivan Sokolov
November 2017

Excerpt