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In order to give the student an idea of the value and popularity of the various openings, the following table of the results of 1500 games may be useful. It is from the chess columns of the New York Sun:—

OPENINGSFIRST PLAYER.TOTAL PLAYED.PER CENT.
WON BY
FIRST PLAYER.		PER CENT.
TOTAL GAMES
PLAYED.
WON.LOST.DREW.
Ruy Lopez145103583065720
Queen’s Pawn[(a)]9763391994813
French Defence8448391716011
Vienna47341596576
Sicilian Defence40291079575
King’s Gambit36321179525
Giuoco Piano36321078525
Evans34201266614
Irregular29311474495
Scotch2226957474
Zukertort23171151563
Two Knights Defence16201046463
Staunton’s1915539553
Fianchetto1314229482
Petroff Defence159327612
Centre Gambit[(b)]1111426502
Philidor Defence89320471
Miscellaneous2229657444
Total6975422611500

The first player won 55.2 per cent. of games played, counting drawn games as one-half.

[(a).] Includes Queen’s Gambits and Queen’s Gambits declined.

[(b).] Includes Centre and Counter Centre Gambits.

THE MIDDLE GAME. After a little experience with openings, the player will usually select one or two which he feels that he can handle better than others, and will make a specialty of them. Having mastered a number of variations, and learned the object of them in forming his pieces for attack or defence, he will naturally be led to the study of the middle game. In this there are a few general principles which should be steadily kept in view. For attack, the player should secure command of a wide range of the board; but for defence he should concentrate his forces as much as possible. He should be careful not to get his pieces in one another’s way, and not to leave pieces where they can be attacked and driven back by inferior pieces, because that entails a loss of valuable time. A player should never exchange a man in active service for one that is doing nothing. If several lines of play are open, the one offering the most numerous good continuations should be selected. When a player is not ready for attack, he should develop his pieces, and remember that the more of them he can get to bear on the enemy’s King, the better. Supporting pieces should be placed where they are not easily attacked, because good players attack the supports first, so as to isolate the advance guard. Beginners are usually in too great a hurry to give check; the best players do not check until they are ready to follow it up with a mate, or a winning position, or can gain time in developing their pieces.

END GAMES. There are certain positions in which apparently equal games are not necessarily drawn, and there are others in which a player with a decided advantage cannot win, within the fifty moves which are allowed him, unless he knows exactly how to proceed. If a player is not well up in endings he may lose many a game which could be won if he only knew how to win it. The following games may be abandoned as drawn:—