Answers.Body: <p>Try taking a look at books that discuss the <em>structures</em> arising out of various openings.  Andrew Soltis' <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1849940703" rel="nofollow">Pawn Structure Chess</a> and Mauricio Flores Rios' <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1784830003" rel="nofollow">Chess Structures</a> both provide good overviews of the appropriate pawn breaks, piece placements, and defensive resources. Of the two, I'd say Rios' book is the more rigorous and comprehensive.</p>
  
  <p>It's certainly possible to learn this by examining master games, but it's a lot more time-consuming. If you're going to try this, I'd recommend anthology / memoir books by authors who specialize in the openings you like (Kasparov: KID, Bronstein: KG, etc.). I found Svetozar Gligoric's <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0713487704" rel="nofollow">I Play Against the Pieces</a> useful in this regard because he divides the games into sections <em>by opening</em>.  Sadly, this last one's become a collector's item in the last 10 years (well, sad for <em>you</em>, anyway), so it's pricey at the moment.</p>
  
  <p>I also strongly recommend John Watson's <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1904600603" rel="nofollow">Mastering the Chess Openings</a> series (4 volumes) as a reference. Each volume can be had in used condition for less than $15, so it's not an outrageous purchase, and Watson's approach is to explain <em>in words</em> what's going on in the variations, and their pros and cons. You may not use 80% of the material, but whatever relates to your opening will will be a goldmine, and is certainly worth the price. </p>
  
  <p>Some publishers do an exceptional job of trying to convey opening theory with these strategic pointers mixed in.  For specific openings, I can recommend Everyman Publishing's two series, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=Easy+guide+everyman" rel="nofollow">Easy Guide to the ...</a> (about 12 volumes, now out of print but available in used condition) and <a href="https://www.everymanchess.com/starting-out?limit=all" rel="nofollow">Starting Out: The ...</a> (about 40 volumes available). </p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: jaxter
Answers.Body: <p>Look at and study hundreds and hundreds of Grandmaster games from the 1800s onwards. Also check out the book How To Reassess Your Chess and other related books</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Jimmy360
Answers.Body: <p>There are only two overarching plans in chess.  </p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>The short term one is to play to attack the opponent's king in a mating attack.</li>
  <li>The long term one is to queen a pawn in an endgame.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Study the master level games that relate to your opening repotoire and learn the typical piece manuevers that support the two plans I mentioned above.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: Study of master games is certainly an important supporting element in learning how to play the middlegames from your openings, but is a difficult resource to mine for the primary ideas. It takes time to understand the different ideas that are going on, and a lot of sifting to see which ideas recur most often, and which are rare.  The right theory book is the next best thing to a coach in this respect.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jaxter
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Answers.Text: This answer is terrible because:
  1) It is erroneous; 2) Even if it were correct, it wouldn't answer the question asked.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Scounged
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Answers.Text: Ok Scounged, if I'm wrong then please show me a game that doesn't fit the overarching plans I've outlined in my answer.  Also I did answer the question.  The question was how to learn plans in a specific opening.  My answer was to study the master level  games from that opening.
Answers.UserDisplayName: AS3Noob
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Answers.Text: @AS3Noob http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1102400. The immortal zugzwang game by Nimzowitsch. Note that black wins not because of a mating attack, or the queening of a pawn. One overarching plan in chess I would say better describes the essence of some openings than your (2) is the accumulation of small advantages, which Steinitz was very fond of. The game I gave here is more in the spirit of that plan than the plans you have given in your answer. As for the late reply: I forgot about this post. Also - out of curiosity - what openings aim for queening a pawn in the endgame?
Answers.UserDisplayName: Scounged
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Answers.Text: @scounged thanks for the reply.  One example of an opening line that aims for queening a pawn in the endgame is the exchange variation of the ruy lopez where white gets the 4 v 3 pawn structure trump on the kingside.  In your example game, white resigned due to zugzwang.  However, if the game had continued to its logical end, then black would have to win eventually through means of a mating attack or by queening a pawn followed by a mating attack.  Yes, I agree my answer is a bit glib, but I still assert that when it comes down to it pretty much all chess games are decided in those two ways.
Answers.UserDisplayName: AS3Noob
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Answers.Text: @AS3Noob That's the first time I've read that the aim in the exchange Ruy is to queen a pawn in the endgame, rather than playing for an endgame advantage due to better pawns. But in either case, I think that we're not in total agreement concerning the properties of an overarching plan. Going for extremes, there's only one: mate the opponent's king! But if we're more specific, we could add others, like 'get more material than your opponent' or 'tie down your opponents pieces, and strike at many points at once'. In the end, I think we need to be more specific for it to be useful in practice.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Scounged
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Answers.Text: @scounged Well, the qualitative nature of the pawn structure advantage in the exchange ruy lopez is that white has the ability to create a passed pawn in the endgame and black doesn't.  It's not so much that black's queenside doubled pawns formation is weak and will eventually get picked off by white.  Although I agree with you that chess is a rich game and the lens with which you look through it informs your perspective.  I was mainly just trying to point out the interplay between the long term static (queen a pawn) and the short term dynamic features (mating attack) that decide most games.
Answers.UserDisplayName: AS3Noob
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Answers.CreationDate: 2016-09-24T15:30:33.397Z
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Answers.UserDisplayName: AS3Noob
Answers.Body: <p>The Middlegame Vol. I and II by Max Euwe is terrific.
  My System by Aron Nimzovitch
  Chess Fundamentals by Jose Capablanca (good for beginners and up)
  Think Like A Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov
  Ideas behind the chess openings Rubin Fine </p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2017-02-25T03:49:58.063Z
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Answers.UserDisplayName: ToddM
Body: <p>It is said that today openings are connected to middlegame plans and even with potential endings. But I can't find those middlegame plans, except for some occasional comments in opening books. In fact I feel lost about middlegame plans. What is the best way to learn the plans related to the openings in my repertoire?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-09-24T13:09:36.410Z
Comments.Text: Books and master games
Comments.UserDisplayName: Jimmy360
Tags: <opening><middlegame><planning>
Title: Middlegame plans
ThreadText: # Middlegame plans
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-09-24)
  
  It is said that today openings are connected to middlegame plans and even with potential endings. But I can't find those middlegame plans, except for some occasional comments in opening books. In fact I feel lost about middlegame plans. What is the best way to learn the plans related to the openings in my repertoire?
  
  **Tags:** opening, middlegame, planning
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Books and master games  
  
  ---
  
  ## 4 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2016-09-24. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
  
  Try taking a look at books that discuss the *structures* arising out of various openings. Andrew Soltis' [Pawn Structure Chess](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1849940703) and Mauricio Flores Rios' [Chess Structures](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1784830003) both provide good overviews of the appropriate pawn breaks, piece placements, and defensive resources. Of the two, I'd say Rios' book is the more rigorous and comprehensive.
  
  It's certainly possible to learn this by examining master games, but it's a lot more time-consuming. If you're going to try this, I'd recommend anthology / memoir books by authors who specialize in the openings you like (Kasparov: KID, Bronstein: KG, etc.). I found Svetozar Gligoric's [I Play Against the Pieces](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0713487704) useful in this regard because he divides the games into sections *by opening*. Sadly, this last one's become a collector's item in the last 10 years (well, sad for *you*, anyway), so it's pricey at the moment.
  
  I also strongly recommend John Watson's [Mastering the Chess Openings](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1904600603) series (4 volumes) as a reference. Each volume can be had in used condition for less than $15, so it's not an outrageous purchase, and Watson's approach is to explain *in words* what's going on in the variations, and their pros and cons. You may not use 80% of the material, but whatever relates to your opening will will be a goldmine, and is certainly worth the price.
  
  Some publishers do an exceptional job of trying to convey opening theory with these strategic pointers mixed in. For specific openings, I can recommend Everyman Publishing's two series, [Easy Guide to the ...](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Easy+guide+everyman) (about 12 volumes, now out of print but available in used condition) and [Starting Out: The ...](https://www.everymanchess.com/starting-out?limit=all) (about 40 volumes available).
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-09-24. Score: 0
  
  Look at and study hundreds and hundreds of Grandmaster games from the 1800s onwards. Also check out the book How To Reassess Your Chess and other related books
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2017-02-25. Score: 0
  
  The Middlegame Vol. I and II by Max Euwe is terrific.
  My System by Aron Nimzovitch
  Chess Fundamentals by Jose Capablanca (good for beginners and up)
  Think Like A Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov
  Ideas behind the chess openings Rubin Fine
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2016-09-24. Score: -5
  
  There are only two overarching plans in chess.
  
  1. The short term one is to play to attack the opponent's king in a mating attack.
  2. The long term one is to queen a pawn in an endgame.
  
  Study the master level games that relate to your opening repotoire and learn the typical piece manuevers that support the two plans I mentioned above.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: Study of master games is certainly an important supporting element in learning how to play the middlegames from your openings, but is a difficult resource to mine for the primary ideas. It takes time to understand the different ideas that are going on, and a lot of sifting to see which ideas recur most often, and which are rare.  The right theory book is the next best thing to a coach in this respect.  
  > **username_4**: This answer is terrible because: 1) It is erroneous; 2) Even if it were correct, it wouldn't answer the question asked.  
  > **username_3**: Ok username_4, if I'm wrong then please show me a game that doesn't fit the overarching plans I've outlined in my answer.  Also I did answer the question.  The question was how to learn plans in a specific opening.  My answer was to study the master level  games from that opening.  
  > **username_4**: @username_3 http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1102400. The immortal zugzwang game by Nimzowitsch. Note that black wins not because of a mating attack, or the queening of a pawn. One overarching plan in chess I would say better describes the essence of some openings than your (2) is the accumulation of small advantages, which Steinitz was very fond of. The game I gave here is more in the spirit of that plan than the plans you have given in your answer. As for the late reply: I forgot about this post. Also - out of curiosity - what openings aim for queening a pawn in the endgame?  
  > **username_3**: @username_4 thanks for the reply.  One example of an opening line that aims for queening a pawn in the endgame is the exchange variation of the ruy lopez where white gets the 4 v 3 pawn structure trump on the kingside.  In your example game, white resigned due to zugzwang.  However, if the game had continued to its logical end, then black would have to win eventually through means of a mating attack or by queening a pawn followed by a mating attack.  Yes, I agree my answer is a bit glib, but I still assert that when it comes down to it pretty much all chess games are decided in those two ways.  
  > **username_4**: @username_3 That's the first time I've read that the aim in the exchange Ruy is to queen a pawn in the endgame, rather than playing for an endgame advantage due to better pawns. But in either case, I think that we're not in total agreement concerning the properties of an overarching plan. Going for extremes, there's only one: mate the opponent's king! But if we're more specific, we could add others, like 'get more material than your opponent' or 'tie down your opponents pieces, and strike at many points at once'. In the end, I think we need to be more specific for it to be useful in practice.  
  > **username_3**: @username_4 Well, the qualitative nature of the pawn structure advantage in the exchange ruy lopez is that white has the ability to create a passed pawn in the endgame and black doesn't.  It's not so much that black's queenside doubled pawns formation is weak and will eventually get picked off by white.  Although I agree with you that chess is a rich game and the lens with which you look through it informs your perspective.  I was mainly just trying to point out the interplay between the long term static (queen a pawn) and the short term dynamic features (mating attack) that decide most games.  
  
  ---
  
  