Rooks belong behind passed pawns

by Karsten Müller
1/1/2019 – It was Dr Tarrasch who formulated this famous principle and though there are, of course, exceptions and positions in which the rook is better placed on the side of the pawn, in rook endings this is still a very good rule of thumb.

Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen

Let endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller show and explain the finesses of the world champions. Although they had different styles each and every one of them played the endgame exceptionally well, so take the opportunity to enjoy and learn from some of the best endgames in the history of chess.

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Bring me home

Black's rook is currently stopping the white c-pawn from advancing. Can White force it through before Black's own pawns get rolling?

 

Chess Endgames 8 - Practical Rook Endgames

Rook endings are amongst the most frequently encountered endgames there are, and so your training effort will be quickly repaid in the form of half and full points. Knowing even a few rules of thumb and key methods makes life a great deal easier and provides a guiding light even in complex positions. This DVD focuses on the important themes which are to be found in common rook endings.

Karsten Mueller in ChessBase Magazine

Do you like these lessons? There are plenty more by internationally renowned endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller in ChessBase Magazine, where you will also find openings articles and surveys, tactics, and of course annotations by the world's top grandmasters.

Apart from his regular columns and video lectures in ChessBase Magazine there is a whole series of training DVDs by Karsten Mueller, which are bestsellers in the ChessBase Shop.

Karsten Mueller

Karsten Mueller regularly presents endgame lessons in the ChessBase Video Portal

 

The best of ChessBase Magazine #187:

  • CBM 184WCh match London 2018
    Anand, So, Gelfand, Duda, Shankland, Navara, Adams, etc. annotate the games
  • ​Take and smile! 
    Daniel Naroditski has a new recipe for White in the London System with 4.dxc5
  • Giri's stroke of genius
    Admire Anish Giri’s new endgame discovery together with Karsten Müller (Video)
  • "Move by Move" á la Ding Liren
    Investigate some amazing attacking moves along with Simon Williams
  • Olympiad Special
    Enjoy three training videos with Yannick Pelletier
  • Olympiad Highlight
    Mihail Marin presents the brilliancy Aronian-Mamedyarov. (Video)
  • Serve and volley! 
    Let Alexey Kuzmin excite you with Mamedyarov’s plan 4…h6 / 6…g5 in the Two Knights Defence!
  • Mr. Isle of Man
    "IOM" winner Radoslaw Wojtaszek analyses his victory in the top duel with Michael Adams.
  • Dragon tamer
    Kristzian Szabo dissects the subtleties of the variation with 7.Be2 followed by 9.0-0-0.
  • A mad rook!
    Tactics expert Oliver Reeh demonstrates the versatility of a major piece. (Video)

Links

Karsten Müller is considered to be one of the greatest endgame experts in the world. His books on the endgame - among them "Fundamentals of Chess Endings", co-authored with Frank Lamprecht, that helped to improve Magnus Carlsen's endgame knowledge - and his endgame columns for the ChessCafe website and the ChessBase Magazine helped to establish and to confirm this reputation. Karsten's Fritztrainer DVDs on the endgame are bestsellers. The mathematician with a PhD lives in Hamburg, and for more than 25 years he has been scoring points for the Hamburger Schachklub (HSK) in the Bundesliga.

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