The 10 Best Chess Plans For The Middlegame - Chess Strategy For The Middlegame - Midgame Strategy

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

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Signed up today love your videos

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I sure am :)

[@UhmActually.]

Definitely not anymore! My elo has become lesser! Thank you so much!!

[@mikeymcmikeface5599]

2:30 That's actually not yet mate.

[@subarunatsuki1902]

@@UhmActually. Congrats! :D

[@dukesublime4178]

“ Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine “ Rudolf Spielmann

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Right on 👍

[@santanu7849]

"I forget everything when I start playing"- Me

[@brucewayne2184]

@@santanu7849 gotta relax

[@Tasklizando]

@@brucewayne2184 good to know that batman is also interested in chess

[@brucewayne2184]

@@Tasklizando He is known to, yes.

[@ZotixPrime]

Always scan the board for vulnerabilities, watch out for pins, look for forks and pins yourself, and try to push pawns to promote, pushing pawns always puts pressure on your opponent and forces them to focus on blocking the pawn.

[@giulianoerli6438]

"The opening Is over, what do i do now?" I usually just lose

[@ruthwik9010]

😂🙌

[@harishg9687]

😋👍🤭😁😆😄🤣😅😂👏

[@mikkey246]

Midgame 😋

[@scp049leplaguedocter3]

SAME UR NOT ALONE BUDDY

[@magnolia8626]

😅😅

[@keyb9926]

I like that he knows how the average player thinks and explains chess concepts so we get the point rather than trying to memorize them

[@eliasaquino2152]

TOTALLY!!! He's so great at that!

[@terrysouth7201]

I think that’s because he was an average player who became an excellent player by virtue of his diligent study and efforts to understand the nuances of the game. He motivates me to improve!

[@mikkey246]

Huh?🥹

[@mysteryGuySaysHi]

Nelson: 10 plans for the middlegame Me: run after his queen Opponent: checkmate

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Lol that's another option I guess =P

[@samuelichovec4474]

1 break open the centre 2 attack opponent's king with a pawns 3 trade your weak pieces for opponent's stronger ones 4 create a battery on a half-open or open file 5 create a battery on a long diagonal 6 rook lift 7 relocate a knight for an outpost 8 locate opponent's weaknesses 9 eliminate weaknesses before get attacked 10 make opponent's pieces innefective

[@kobe51]

Spacebo

[@aminecraftplayer9642]

Thanks for saving our time 😇

[@EarthSurferUSA]

AGAIN!!! :)

[@TintinMinh]

Thanks

[@danno1800]

Thanks

[@MarkLawry]

As a beginner, I find your explanations easy to follow.

[@garyl1000]

Nelson Lopez is hands down the best online instructor I've seen. Clear explanations, interesting and just plain helpful. Thanks Nelson!

[@OleFanaego]

Man I am in love with this video. I’ve been playing chess since I was 10, I’m 25 now. I’m fallling back in love with the game again. I’ve came to a stalemate and an awkward stage at this point because I never developed my game after the opening. And it was super frustrating because I wanted to get better and better develop my game. I finally stopped being stubborn and ended up going to KZbin and man am I in awe. Much love from Chicago my man

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks man, glad you found the channel!

[@mikkey246]

Updates?

[@sebastiangonzalez3825]

@@mikkey246 he’s probably still trash

[@rajeshpandey2198]

Quality content as always

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks, Rajesh!

[@phoenixknight6027]

You teaching style matches my learning style, very easy to follow thank you. New follower here

[@Zenitself]

0:43 Break open the Centah 1:39 Pawn Storm hiz az 2:55 Trade Up: your weak piece for his strong piece 3:45 Create a Battery 🔋 on open and 1/2 open files 4:47 Create a Diagonal Battery 🔋 6:04 Rook Lift 7:14 Knight Outpost 8:20 Weakness stack attack 9:20 Prophylaxis: Eliminate weaknesses before opponent can attack 10:50 Crystalize enemy piece

[@argenysgarcia5100]

Pawn storm "hizaz" 😂👏🏻

[@Christiaan1958]

...his az...pffft

[@jonasherman9195]

Really an amazing video! There are more videos on how to make a plan but no single one except this one clearly structures a number of plans to consider. You did an amazing job structuring that!

[@TS-pt4yt]

Nelson, one of your best. I have a chess coach, and he’s great. And this is what such chess coaches do but you’re not charging us all 40 or more usd per hour. Well done and thanks!

[@chesstime_0720]

Thanks

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thank you!

[@matteovrizzi]

this was one of the best short courses i've ever seen bravo!

[@SirSidi]

This is like the most instructive channel for intermediate chess players.. it has all I have been missing all along.. thank you Nelson

[@douwehuysmans5959]

One thing I'd like to add about pawn storms is that there often isn't enough time to storm with multiple pawns, often it's better to just storm the h or the g pawn alone and sacing it for open files / diagonals

[@kiddtoroi9473]

Man I hope you get more popular. Your videos have helped me a lot.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

I appreciate that! Glad you're learning!

[@jjbasson]

a great book on this is 'how to reassess your chess' which teaches you to identify the in the position and make them work for you. you have a bishop and they have a knight? exchange pawns to open up the position. they have attacking chances but you have better pawn structure? try to exchange off pieces, play defensively, and make it to the endgame. etc

[@timothykennett5976]

Just discovered your videos and appreciate the attention to detail and thought you put into each. For example, you adjust the videos to incorporate various opening lines to accommodate different playing styles or analyze hundreds of intermediate-level games then provide thereby providing an analysis that's substantiated and credible.

[@randyking9489]

Absolutely the best videos. Concise with no rambling. Glad I found these. Thanks for posting!!

[@eliasaquino2152]

Agreed!

[@awang_ir]

Thanks! Hopefully we could have some sort of remake from older videos, since most of new subscribers would hardly click on some 1-2 years old uploads. Keep up the good work!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Great idea 💡

[@dkpandey1996]

That was a great lesson. Even though I knew about most of these strategies, I still feel I learned something from this video. And now I have a handy checklist to decide what plan to go ahead with in a game. Thanks a lot.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

No problem!

[@gerrylast3553]

Honestly NM Lopez is a fantastic instructor. His videos need to be considered standards for chess education. Clear, concise, and easily digestible education to even the worst patzers like myself. Thank you for the rating points Nelson!

[@adriantarngriffin]

Excellent strategies for the middle game. Very helpful. Many thanks.

[@KamenKr]

Really, the best channel for learning chess. streight to the point. Clear. Perfect

[@thestoryteller3516]

I found this really helpful, as i often make blunders and don't know what to do in the middle-game, giving me a disadvantage in the end-game.

[@randyking9489]

Absolutely the best concise videos. Straight to the point with no ra mbl

[@zachhaywood1564]

I'm finally getting back into chess again, this really helped dust off some of the mental cobwebs.

[@prasadshrivatsa6126]

Most of the chess videos I have watched were game analysis. Very few chess videos discuss games plans. I can say that this video will be helpful to many who are trying to improve their Chess skills. Thanks for the video.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ryanodonnell4184]

A great teacher right here! So easy to understand, short, and to the point.

[@yyyyyk]

This was an excellent video! I would love to see more about these early middle game (right after the opening) plans and how to execute them. (Like show more examples of these plans in action, in scenarios when they work, and show when they don't work/are not applicable). Thank you very much, NM Nelson!

[@ElectricHedgehogs]

Brilliant video! This is such a fantastic channel, so pleased I found it.

[@cameronmckenna6939]

This video was exactly what I needed. Serious thanks

[@davidgeorge6278]

How are these videos only getting 1k views? These videos have been a game changer for me.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

I'm still relatively unknown I guess? 🤷‍♂️ Thanks, glad they're helping!

[@iPlayDrums025]

Love the way you explain these things

[@davidewing3024]

This guy is great! He tells you the principle or the concept, gives an example and moves on. I've filled an entire page with notes derived from his videos. Maybe other learners are different, but I don't get that much out of Rosen's or Levi's commentary of the games they present. Hanging Pawns is good too but sometimes too lengthy for me.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks, David!

[@clydecyruzalcaraz6063]

rooting for you, NM Nelson. every nugget of information is so so so useful.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

I appreciate that, Clyde!

[@clydecyruzalcaraz6063]

Am actually trying to imitate your way of teaching whenever I teach chess to my students. So calm but so smooth and substantial. Salute.

[@hello37175]

Thanks man. I’m very happy to have stumbled upon your channel. Your lessons are so accessible and easy to understand for lower ranked players (like myself!) and yet the info is expert level. Thanks heaps.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Welcome, John!

[@darrylkassle361]

You ry have a way of getting to the core of what lower rated playsrs need to know . This was incredibly helpful. I have watched umteen number of chess channels aimed at sub 1600 elo players and have rary come across a channel like yours that explains thigs in a simple straight forward way and offers the info we actually want and need to know. I think a lot of channels dont realise some info needs bt explained and made aware without making the assumption that the info is a given and that we already know such things. Keep it up you should have a great following in no time. Also you should get patreon or something. I am sure a lot of people appreciate what you are doing and would slip you a few bucks here n there for your efforts.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks a lot Darryl for the kind words. I did add PayPal link in the description of the videos and I have channel memberships as another option to support, but will look into Patreon also. Appreciate the feedback!

[@kaixajj]

cooollll. this is the vid i needed to watch. now i know what to do instead of beat around the bush after the opening. nice work! thankss

[@freddy_norway]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

[@bonir2003]

Great Job!

[@emilydivis6369]

I have a bad habit of just playing what feels right without coming up with a plan first - or worse, making up a plan for the purpose of justifying the move I want to do. That's backwards; make the plan, then decide on the move. Something that's helped me with my chess is to play correspondence games (or whatever they're called when there's no turn time limit, or the time limit is days instead of minutes) and make a word document keeping track of the moves. After every move my opponent makes, I write down why I think they made that move, what I notice about the position, and why I'm choosing the move I'm choosing. It takes time, but it forces me to stop just playing arbitrary "this feels right" kinds of moves. Great video as always! (And thanks for reading my long-winded tangents.)

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks! Keep that up and I imagine you will continue to improve, I've never used Word like that but that's a great idea. Thanks for sharing!

[@mortenjacobsen5673]

@@ChessVibesOfficial dosent chess come down to caus and effect? And since eatch piece has a limited range of moves, there is no need knowing every possible combination of moves that will never be played during a set, since other pieces ol the bord is taking up space, and futher a piece realy has 3 options of play :attack, hold or defend. One could argu that beeing taken is a fourth. Is it not then better to play the what if game and play fast games to cycle trough more scenarios? After all if you play the same opening options are reduced as game goes on.

[@stephensinclair3771]

Found this really useful. The tips "break open the centre" and "eliminate dangers" are incredibly useful. The trade off thing is also good. For filling the "what the hell do I do now?....its a good thing for us average players to focus on. The "battery" thing is what Napoleon would have called "concentrated force at the decisive point. On a 12 game winning streak online. Partly with the help of this channel. Was a TERRIBLE player for a long time.

[@devanarayanababu1996]

good for you ❤️

[@stephensinclair3771]

@@devanarayanababu1996 thanks. I find I CAN beat higher rated players on a regular basis. Still make rookie mistakes. But. I immediately see them lol. Working to eliminate them.

[@wildworldexplorerstv]

Thank you so much for the lecture master Nelson. I particularly apply all these things almost in every game i play but still have difficulties on defending.

[@danielhudon9456]

“Yeah, we got a pawn, it’s good, but it’s not as good as checkmate.” Word. And another great video, thanks!

[@Cousinsjay]

One of the most helpful exercises that I've seen in 20 years. I am probably rated around 2,000 but found this tremendous to bring those thoughts into the front of my mind as I play

[@rohanpatel3476]

You are a master?

[@stevendavis2247]

@@rohanpatel3476 2000 isn't a master just an expert. Lowest master level is 2200 at that point you can get the National Master Title or Candidate Master Title depending on where you live.

[@erenjaegerbomb8653]

"probably"?

[@AmitKumar-ze4tv]

Important, informational and impressive video. Thank you sir...

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks Amit, glad you liked it!

[@ErainierManejoRaine]

Nice. Ideas to. Elevate. Chess Beginners to. Intermediate. Level! Some. Fundamental. Middlegame. Strategy is to. create Pawnstorm, Find. Weak pawns, Re-routing pieces for. Effectivitty , Find. Weak Diagonals. etc! Great. Info! 👍

[@sammyoerth]

Hey if you are reading this, there is a mistake at 8:18 if you move the horse to a5 the bishop at g5 will take the pawn and gets a better position make it much more aggressive

[@raghvendrasinghsengar8360]

it's Just amazing 😊 And thumbnail is also pretty beautiful , thanks...this gonna help ALOT

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Really appreciate it!

[@ratpshaminda2540]

Wow what a nice guide.... learned lots of things...thanks❤️

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ratpshaminda2540]

@@ChessVibesOfficial i am watching your all videos ..they are simple and useful.. and your voice is very clear... keep your work on youtube never give up...good luck❤️👊

[@GetOffTheLawn]

Number 10 was an eye opener. I love it.

[@hipsterhunter4eva901]

Thank you Nelson

[@1877Pegasus]

Very good. Instructive and step by step. I have been watching many videos of other well known chess KZbinrs, but your videos give the foundation that they lack in their videos. Thank you

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@cmannion14]

Thanks!

[@tanujb]

Thanks Nelson

[@juanky0337]

Great video... it really helped with the middlegame and the outcome of my game was very satisfying.

[@dinogiancola6261]

Possibly your most helpful video great stuff. Don’t run out of things to think of in the middlegame like I used to

[@simpleliving662]

Subscribed and hit that notification bell! Looking forward to watching your videos. Thank you!

[@seppukun208]

This is pure gold for a beginner like me. Thank you!

[@samlutz858]

Great tips thanks Nelson!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

You bet!

[@BlunderBunny]

Wow, so much helpful information in a short video. Thank you for your clear and concise explanations.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks, Ellen. Glad it was helpful!

[@10freks]

What I learned from the Rook Lift was that you do not have to trade because you can even if it isn't threatend by anything, I always trade if I'm the white pieces, but I learned that you can create a bigger threat then just trading off your pieces and creating a end game quickly. Yes, I am not that great of the game, I am only 748 in elo but grinding for 800. Thanks for the lesson! ❤

[@DavidEmerling79]

Excellent explanation about these plans. What I particularly liked about it is that you didn't bog the viewer down with too many details. I'm sure your intent was for this to be a quick, cursory overview of potential plans and that's exactly what you did. You kept with the script. Oftentimes, the master gets too specific when he is really just trying to make a general point. Keep up the good work!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks, David👍

[@itifonhom]

Some very helpful ideas, many thanks!!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

No problem!

[@Elevator_Fudd]

This is the area of my game I think is the weakest. Of course at my level all areas are weak. But if I had to pick one where I truly felt overwhelmed it's the middlegame. And this video has given me some clarity on how to proceed. Every video I watch of yours, doesn't solve my particular problem, but it most definitely give me a solid direction plan of what to do moving forward. Once again keep up the amazing work!!!

[@blueckaym]

at 11:11 I've seen this knight-bishop trade in English opening often, but I don't know why they take with the D-pawn instead of with the B-pawn - that contradicts one of the main principles to take with pawn toward the center. But when shown in a video like this usually the subject is different and so I've never heard why it's accepted. Does anyone know?

[@zxjc]

Maybe to open up the queen? It is odd though

[@callumcavell4770]

Genuinely my favourite channel to come to watch great exposition. Love it mate, keep it up!

[@extraudoknight]

Great advice just what I am looking for

[@SurvarSubair]

Excellent work. U deserve more subs. Keep up 👍

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Thanks, will do!

[@cslbu1950]

Great video

[@ChrisSmith-il5qe]

Getting more serious about chess and I've been looking for a video like this for weeks. Thank you!

[@danno1800]

Nice lesson - thanks - much appreciated!

[@hurfery]

Super useful teachings. Thanks Nelson. :)

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Of course!

[@valtteri234]

Very good video. Especially those advanced positional ideas were helpful!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Glad to hear!

[@raveendrancherupillil5439]

Very instructive ideas.

[@bombasticcat]

Wow... this was the most useful video i have ever seen in my life

[@robertogarrido8618]

Wow ¡ Finally, some powerful and practical advice for the middle game, which is usually covered with a lot of mystery by chess coaches. Many thanks, Nelson ¡¡

[@pneumatic00]

Very nicely done video. Excellent

[@jrviade85]

I really like when you tell us to pause the video and try and figure out the best move That really exercises the brain n helps us improve in our game Thank you for that! 🙂

[@pulemolefe6104]

Videos like this make me think I can go from this to playing like the instructor 😂😂

[@jimbednash8647]

Thank you for the video. You are the best instructor on the internet.

[@Rafael-ql3dz]

This video totally saved my game today!

[@Logan-w9d]

I am a 11 year old chess noob just starting out and the idea of the battery is so cool to know now. Now I can beat my dad😂😂

[@aanavnayak3130]

Same.

[@OregonMikeH]

Nelson, You are so good at teaching that I share your Ch. more often and with a larger group of people than any other Chess Creator. This includes Members of my Chess Club as well, "Coos Bay, Oregon Chess Club". Thanks for such outstanding style man. Blessings your way with a huge thumbs up every single night! SHARED & SHARED AGAIN.

[@BloxiansToday]

nice tutorial sir

[@ElectricHedgehogs]

This is one of the best chess videos I have ever seen. Fantastic ideas. Soooooo helpful. You are such a good teacher.

[@fortyfivedollars45]

Earned my subscription with this video alone, national masters make excellent chess teachers... keep up the amazing content!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Welcome aboard!

[@ugursoylu7174]

Dude you are amazing. Before watching your videos, at a position like the one at 12:30, as black, at best I would’ve noticed the unprotected c4 pawn but apart from that I would have had very little idea to progress beyond looking for blunders etc. Now, thanks to you I learnt to also look for the backward pawn at b2, I learnt not to just look at the pieces but at the squares as well, I learnt about outposts and am considering maybe b3 square could be a good outpost for my knight perhaps protected by a bishop at e6 square. Maybe none of these ideas would actually do any good, but even then at least I learnt the look at such possibilities in the middlegame where before I would have no idea what to do. Can’t thank you enough man, you and your content is amazing!!!

[@X00000370]

Useful video for beginners to intermediate chess players. Thanks...

[@XerxesGammon200]

Very sold advice. Ty 👌

[@kiton1890]

thank you

[@wnJhntn]

When relocating knights, what about tempo?

[@dragadeyt]

Great video! Very helpful plans for the middlegame.

[@ajarnray4115]

Excellent video with great strategies for the middlegame. Thanks for uploading.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@petergreen5337]

Thank you very much publisher