The Middle Game in Chess by Euwe: Book One, Static Features

In chess, the middle game presents the writer as well as the player with the most formidable problems. Its theory is particularly difficult to formulate with the result that it has, as Dr. Euwe explains, received inadequate treatment in chess literature. Indeed, this work was first conceived during the Second World War and has required many years of intensive study by the former World Champion and his collaborator, Mr. H. Kramer, the Dutch international master and chess writer, for its completion. This volume is devoted to what the authors term the 'static features' of the middle game. The character of a position alters with every move. It is therefor the authors' purpose to identify those features of a given position which have more lasting properties and from them to assess its potentialities. After considering the relative value of the pieces, they examine center formations, closed, open and half-open formations, the struggle for open lines, and weak pawns – illustrating their themes with many examples from master play. In a companion volume they will conclude their survey with an investigation of the dynamic and subjective features of the middle game. This comprehensive study of middle-game theory is a classic unlikely to be superseded. It is a valuable addition to the library of every serious student of chess.