Karsten Müller, born 1970, has a world-wide reputation as one of the greatest endgame experts. He has, together with Frank Lamprecht written a book on the subject: “Fundamental Chess Endgames” in addition to other contributions such as his column on the website ChessCafe as well as in ChessBase Magazine. Müller's ChessBase-DVDs about endgames in Fritztrainer-Format are bestsellers. The PhD in mathematics lives in Hamburg, where he has also been hunting down points for the HSK in the Bundesliga for many years.
2/25/2021 – In round 2 of the Altibox Norway Tournament 2020 Fabiano Caruana won a fascinating and tricky endgame against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Of course, endgame expert and aficionado Karsten Müller was intrigued but the result notwithstanding he was not sure whether the endgame was also theoretically won. But now, after lengthy analyses with Zoran Petronijevic, he came to a definite conclusion. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
2/23/2021 – Usually a rook is far superior to a knight in a pure endgame. But there are exceptions. In the diagram position White's rook is helpless against the black knight and the black pawns. Black to move and win.
2/16/2021 – Endgames with knight against bishop can be very deep. In the diagram position Black can win, if he uses the power and the influence of his bishop and the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang in the right way.
2/9/2021 – Opposite coloured bishop endings have drawish tendencies but in the diagram position it is difficult to see how Black can stop White's connected passed pawns. However, Wesley So showed why the king is a strong piece and saved the game for Black.
2/2/2021 – Knight endings are often tricky and both sides have to calculate precisely. In the diagram position Black has to make a difficult decision: should he try to advance and to queen the f-pawn or should he catch White's a-pawn and convert the kingside pawns later? What would you do?
2/1/2021 – For chess fans, the fact that the Tata Steel tournament was played over-the-board with a classical time control meant the return of high-quality games by the strongest players in the world. In the final round, world champion Magnus Carlsen showed what he is capable of in his game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit
1/26/2021 – Is a knight on the rim always dim? Well, in chess there are no rules without exceptions, and though knights on the rim often make a poor impression there are still countless examples in which they prove to be powerful. The diagram position is one such example: Black to play and draw.
1/25/2021 – In the first round of the Tata Steel Tournament 2021 Alireza Firouzja lost against Magnus Carlsen, but then he scored 5½/7, and with 5½/8 and an Elo-performance of 2882 he is now sole leader. In round 8 Firouzja won an interesting game against Pentala Harikrishna in which he showed how powerful the bishops can be. Karsten Müller had a close look. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit - Tata Steel Tournament 2021
1/12/2021 – Usually, in a race of passed pawns it is better to have a bishop than a knight. After all, bishops are long ranging pieces while knights can easily become short of breath. But there are exceptions, this position for example. White to play and win.
1/5/2021 – Endings with opposite coloured bishops have drawish tendencies. And often positional factors are more important than material, particularly so when building a fortress is the order of the day: White to play and draw!
1/4/2021 – The Airthings Masters brought a lot of interesting endgames. One such endgame occurred in the decisive game of the semifinal match between Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave: Aronian had bishop and knight and tried to convert an extra pawn against the pair of bishops. After inaccuracies from both sides Aronian finally won and advanced to the final. Zoran Petronijevic had a close look.
1/1/2021 – In the quarterfinal of the Airthings Masters Magnus Carlsen was defeated by Daniil Dubov after losing two spectacular games, in which Carlsen missed good chances. In another game of the match Carlsen had good chances in a rook ending with an extra pawn. But could he have won? Zoran Petronijevic and Karsten Müller took a close look!
12/29/2020 – Passed pawns can be dangerous, sometimes even extremely dangerous. In the diagram position Black really needs a good idea to stop the white pawns. What would you do? Black to play and draw!
12/28/2020 – In the first eight rounds of the Airthings Masters Preliminary Tournament Magnus Carlsen (pictured) drew seven of his games and won only one. He defeated Daniil Dubov in a difficult technical endgame. The Airthings Masters is a rapid tournament, and the players often have only seconds to make their moves - not enough to think too much about endgame subtleties. However, analysts like to search for the truth, and Zoran Petronijevic and Karsten Müller decided to take a close look at the endgame in Carlsen vs Dubov and found an amazing ressource. | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Archive)
12/22/2020 – Rook endings have drawish tendencies and being one or even two pawns up does not guarantee a win. However, having a theoretically drawn position on the board does not guarantee a draw in practice. Precision is required. What should Black play in the diagram position?
12/20/2020 – In game 14 of the 1958 World Championship match between Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov, Botvinnik played what he called “maybe his most subtle rook ending”. Endgame specialist Karsten Müller asked our readers to help him find any mistakes that might have been made in the game. The verdict? Smyslov could have drawn!
12/12/2020 – Mikhail Botvinnik became world champion for the first time in 1948. After defending the title twice, he lost it to Vasily Smyslov in 1957. Botvinnik reclaimed the title with a clear victory in a rematch the very next year. In game 14, he played what he called “maybe his most subtle rook ending”. Endgame specialist Karsten Müller now wonders whether a few mistakes have not been discovered yet. You can help him solve the historical riddle! | Pictured: Botvinnik v Smyslov on April 19, 1957 | Photo: Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo
Anniversary issue with several extras! "My favourite young Carlsen game": 22 authors annotate. Pearls from Wijk: Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri comment on their best games. Plus 11 opening articles, 3 opening videos, "Carlen's strategy" and much more!
Fat Fritz 2.0 is the successor to the revolutionary Fat Fritz, which was based on the famous AlphaZero algorithms. This new version takes chess analysis to the next level and is a must for players of all skill levels.
Videos by Jan Werle ("Latest trends in King's Indian Saemisch Variation") and Mihail Marin ("Ruy Lopez with 6.d3"). "Lucky bag" with analyses by Adhiban, Ganguly, Mikhalchishin, Bartel et al. Over 44,000 new games for your database.
In this video series Pert gives a strong and practical Black repertoire against the Anti-Sicilians such as the Bb5 Sicilian, the Grand Prix Attack, the Alapin and many more, from my years of experience playing the Sicilian.
Special: AVRO 1938. “All in One”: Anish Giri and Igor Stohl dissect two topical opening lines. Analyses from Norway Chess 2020 by Duda, Firouzja et al. Videos by Erwin l’Ami, Daniel King and Mihail Marin. 11 opening articles and much more!
Anniversary issue with several extras! "My favourite young Carlsen game": 22 authors annotate. Pearls from Wijk: Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri comment on their best games. Plus 11 opening articles, 3 opening videos, "Carlen's strategy" and much more!
Fat Fritz 2.0 is the successor to the revolutionary Fat Fritz, which was based on the famous AlphaZero algorithms. This new version takes chess analysis to the next level and is a must for players of all skill levels.
Videos by Jan Werle ("Latest trends in King's Indian Saemisch Variation") and Mihail Marin ("Ruy Lopez with 6.d3"). "Lucky bag" with analyses by Adhiban, Ganguly, Mikhalchishin, Bartel et al. Over 44,000 new games for your database.
In this video series Pert gives a strong and practical Black repertoire against the Anti-Sicilians such as the Bb5 Sicilian, the Grand Prix Attack, the Alapin and many more, from my years of experience playing the Sicilian.
Special: AVRO 1938. “All in One”: Anish Giri and Igor Stohl dissect two topical opening lines. Analyses from Norway Chess 2020 by Duda, Firouzja et al. Videos by Erwin l’Ami, Daniel King and Mihail Marin. 11 opening articles and much more!
€19.95
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