middlegame

M3I1D2D2L1E1G2A1M3E1

noun

The period in a game between the opening and endgame.

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Meanings

nounmiddlegame (plural middlegames)

plural middlegames

  1. board gamesThe period in a game between the opening and endgame.

    Kramnik is perhaps the greatest exponent of heavyweight queenless middlegames in the history of chess.

    2012, Neil McDonald, Chess Success: Planning After the Opening, page 55

Origin

From middle + game.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 中局, 中盤 /中盘
  • 中局 (zhōngjú)the period in a game between the opening and endgame
  • 中盤 /中盘 (zhōngpán)the period in a game between the opening and endgame
Dutch middenspel
  • middenspelthe period in a game between the opening and endgame
Finnish keskipeli
  • keskipelithe period in a game between the opening and endgame
German Mittelspiel
  • Mittelspielthe period in a game between the opening and endgame
Italian mediogioco
  • mediogiocothe period in a game between the opening and endgame
Japanese 中盤
  • 中盤 (chūban)the period in a game between the opening and endgame
Korean 중반
  • 중반 (jungban)the period in a game between the opening and endgame
Russian ми́ттельшпи́ль
  • ми́ттельшпи́ль (míttɛlʹšpílʹ)the period in a game between the opening and endgame
Vietnamese trung cuộc
  • trung cuộcthe period in a game between the opening and endgame
Cite this entry
APA

middlegame. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middlegame

MLA

“middlegame.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middlegame. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “middlegame,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middlegame.

Source: middlegame on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.