[Event "How to WIN in the Middlegame 🤔: Develop the Rooks"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/3hXzTQFU/I0X4CKtN"] [Result "*"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/FunnyAnimatorJimTV"] [FEN "2rqr1k1/pb3pp1/1p2nn1p/3p4/3P4/P2B1P2/1P1QNBPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2017.12.09"] [UTCTime "17:42:54"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/3hXzTQFU/I0X4CKtN"] [Orientation "white"] { This is a typical position; the opening has just finished and we're at the middlegame. As you can see white has several possible moves. However, white's #1 priority should be to develop all of the pieces. At the moment white is playing without both rooks! At the start of the middlegame you should make sure that your rooks are taking part in the action. Ideally you want to place the rooks on the central open files. In this case, c and e. } { [%csl Gc1,Ge1][%cal Be2c3,Be2g3,Bd3b5,Bd3f5,Bf2h4,Ga1c1,Gf1e1] } 1. Bh4? { Now let's see what happened in the game, which is clearly not what white should have done! } (1. Rac1! Nf8 2. Rfe1 { [%csl Ge1,Gc1][%cal Yc1c8,Ye1e8] }) 1... g5 2. Bg3 Nh5 3. f4 Nxg3 4. hxg3 Qf6 5. Bb5 Re7 6. f5 Nc7 7. Bd3 Ne8 { A lot of weird moves have been played. It's the 25th move of the game and...The white rook is still on a1 doing nothing. This is what you must do with rooks. Put them on the open files; give them a reason to be in the game! :) } { [%csl Ra1][%cal Ga1c1] } *