Chess Middlegame I 1.2

The Chess Middlegame I course, composed by GM Alexander Kalinin, aims to teach students various middlegame methods and intricacies through a theoretical section.

This course covers typical plans and methods in popular openings such as Scotch, Ruy Lopez, Sicilian, Caro-Kann, French, English opening, Dutch, Slav, Catalan, Nimzo-Indian, King's Indian, Grünfeld, and Benko Gambit. The Encyclopedia of Middlegame course also provides detailed material about typical pawn structures like Karlsbad and Hedgehog.

This course is part of the Chess King Learn series (https://learn.chessking.com/), which offers a comprehensive chess teaching method. The series includes courses on tactics, strategy, openings, middlegame, and endgame, designed for beginners to experienced players, including professionals.

With the help of this course, students can improve their chess knowledge, learn new tactical tricks and combinations, and apply their acquired knowledge in practice.

The program serves as a coach by giving tasks to solve and offering guidance when needed. It provides hints, explanations, and even demonstrates refutations for mistakes made.

In addition to the practical exercises, the program includes a theoretical section that explains game strategies in different stages based on real-life examples. The theory is presented interactively, allowing students not only to read the lessons but also to make moves on the board and practice unclear moves.

Advantages of the program include:

• High-quality examples that have been double-checked for correctness
• Requirement to enter all key moves as instructed by the teacher
• Different levels of task complexity
• Various goals to be reached in the problems
• Providing hints when errors are made
• Showing refutations for common mistaken moves
• Ability to play out any position from the tasks against the computer
• Interactive theoretical lessons
• Structured table of contents for easy navigation
• The program monitors the player's rating (ELO) changes throughout the learning process
• Test mode with flexible settings
• Possibility to bookmark favorite exercises
• Compatibility with tablet screens
• No internet connection required to use the application

The course includes a free part that allows users to test the program. The lessons in the free version are fully functional and provide an opportunity to experience the application in real-world conditions before purchasing additional topics. The lessons covered in the free version include:

1. Scotch game
   1. Scotch game
   2. The variation with 4...Nf6
   3. The variation with 4...Bc5
2. Ruy Lopez defense
   1. Ruy Lopez defense
   2. Classification of the closed Ruy Lopez
   3. The closed pawn center
   4. Positions with the closed pawn center and the open c-file
   5. Rauzer's plan
   6. The variation with Bc8-e6
   7. The center is not blocked
3. Caro-Kann defense
   1. Caro-Kann defense
   2. The Capablanca variation
   3. The Smyslov-Petrosian variation
4. French defense
   1. French defense
   2. The Winawer variation
   3. The classical system (3...Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7)
   4. The Tarrasch variation (3. Nd2)
5. Sicilian defense
   1. Sicilian defense
   2. The system with 2. c3
   3. Scheveningen
   4. The systems with e7-e5
   5. Systems with an exchange Bxf6 gf
6. English opening
   1. English opening
   2. English opening, the dragon system with colors reversed
   3. English opening. 1. c4 e5 (without d7-d5)
7. Dutch defense
   1. Dutch defense
   2. Stonewall
   3. The Iljin-Zhenevsky system
   4. Leningrad system
8. Slav defense
   1. Slav defense
   2. The Schlechter system
   3. The Meran variation
   4. The Botvinnik system
9. Catalan opening
10. Nimzo-Indian defense
11. Grünfeld defense, the system with Qd1-b3
12. King's Indian defense
13. Benko gambit
14. The "Karlsbad" pawn structure
15. Typical position with the mobile pawn center
16. The "hedgehog" system
17. Typical pawn structure with an outpost on the half-open d-file