Karsten Müller

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.

Recent news

The fourth phase

6/19/2018 – Opening, middlegame, endgame — according to classical teachings these are the three parts of a chess game. In the opening and in the middlegame the king better hides, in the endgame, it can get active. But modern teachings stipulate that there is a fourth phase of the game — in which king safety is key again.

A strong outsider

6/12/2018 – "All rook endings are drawn" is a well-known and obviously wrong witticism. In fact, even drawn rook endings are not always drawn.

Winning a won game

6/5/2018 – Having a material plus in the endgame is sometimes not enough. Especially if only a few pawns are left on the board. How can Black win this position by carefully maneuvering his knight?

King on the rim is dim

5/29/2018 – Knights on the rim are dim because they often do not have much room for maneuver. Kings on the rim can be dim because they might fall victim to a mating attack.

Endgame Magic with guest GM Daniel Fernandez

5/23/2018 – England's newest grandmaster, Daniel Fernandez, is in Hamburg recording a FritzTrainer to be published later this year. He joins Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice. Watch live at 15:00 CEST (9:00 AM EDT) or later on-demand!

Dancing with rooks

5/22/2018 – People often believe that you do not have to calculate much in endgames because there are only a few pieces left on the board which reduces tactical possibilities. However, the opposite is true. Because there are only so few pieces left tactical precision is required.

Knight on the rim is dim

5/15/2018 – "Knight on the rim is dim", is a well-known saying by Dr. Tarrasch. In modern chess general rules are less and less applicable but sometimes they nevertheless turn out to be true. Still, you have to find good moves to prove that.

Stalemate?

5/9/2018 – Some people consider stalemate an injustice - but according to the current rules of chess stalemate is a draw. Which sometimes helps to save seemingly hopeless positions.

Passed pawns

5/2/2018 – Passed pawns are often dangerous and far advanced passed pawns are often very dangerous. How does Black draw this position?

Forbidden squares

4/24/2018 – Two passed pawns are strong, but a bishop is often stronger — particularly so if it is supported by its king.

Endgame Magic with guest Nick Pert

4/17/2018 – GM Nicholas Pert is in Hamburg recording a Fritztrainer to be published later this year. He joins Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice. Watch on-demand!

Stopping the pawn

4/17/2018 – Knights are quick and dangerous, as every blitz player knows. They can trouble king, queen, rook, and bishop. But when knights have to stop passed pawns they are often surprisingly clumsy.