The Middle Game of Chess

In the middle game of chess tensions start to arise. Most important now is to come up with a good plan and put pressure on the opponent. This can happen in many ways. Either you threat the obvious unprotected pieces and pawns or you start looking for interesting combinations that will expose the opponents weaknesses. Some times one miscalculation of the opponent in many exchanges can gift you with a pawn and a pawn can be precious (a potential queen) in the endgame. So I would say that the goal of the middle game is to win material!

Of course this is not always that easy, especially if your opponent is a strong and better player than you. In that case you might have to focus on building a nice complex defence and "weaving" your pieces in a protected area. He might try too hard to break through your defence and get disappointed. Disappointment will make him angry and impatient. Impatience will make him make small mistakes which you can take slowly advantage of. So patience and cool thinking can also be a way of winning.

Its also good not to let the opponent too much free space. Confining him in his own territory could be the first step towards winning. This will prevent him from attacking your own army and the more you confine him and put pressure on him, the more his psychological state will drop and help you win!