Karsten Müller

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.

Recent news

Counterplay counts

6/2/2026 – Counterplay counts: Queen and knight can often drum up a dangerous attack: White to move and draw.
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A light initiative weighs heavily

5/26/2026 – A light initiative weighs heavily: This is the main guideline in the endgame rook and knight against rook and knight: Black to move and win.
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Endgame Magic #329: Andy Woodward

5/19/2026 – Andy and Karsten show 2 attacking highlights. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Black's busy bishop

5/19/2026 – Black's busy bishop: Same colored bishop endings can be deep: Black to move and win.
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Endgame Magic #328: King activity is important

5/12/2026 – Karsten looks at 3 endgames by Leon Luke Mendonca and emphasises the importance of this principle. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

The power of the pair

5/12/2026 – The power of the pair: The bishops are often stronger than bishop and knight: White to move and win.
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Knight forks and knightmares

5/5/2026 – Knight forks and knightmares: Usually a rook is much stronger than a knight in an endgame: White to move and win.
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Endgame Magic #327: Aram Hakobyan

4/30/2026 – Aram and Karsten show 2 endgame highlights | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Black's bishop's knightmare

4/28/2026 – Black's bishop's knightmare: The duel knight against bishop can be tricky. The right knight road: White to move and win.
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The power of the passed pawn

4/21/2026 – The power of the passed pawn: In an endgame a dangerous passed pawn often allows sacrificial combinations: White to move and win.
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Endgame Magic #326: Bodhana Sivanandan

4/15/2026 – Karsten is joined by Bodhana Sivanandan who is Britain's No.1 female player at the age of 11 years. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

The sting of the bishop scorpion

4/14/2026 – The sting of the bishop scorpion: Races of passed pawns can be sharp: Black to move and win.
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Carlsen's king

4/7/2026 – Carlsen's king: Dangerous passed pawns are often mighty in an endgame. Here the question is, which direction should White's king take to secure the draw?: White to move and draw.
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The rook's pawn is the worst enemy of the knight

3/31/2026 – The rook's pawn is the worst enemy of the knight: As the edge of the board is so near a knight often has problems to deal with a rook's pawn: White to move and win.
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Endgame Magic #325: Viktor Korchnoi

3/27/2026 – Karsten pays tribute to Viktor Korchnoi who would have turned 95 this week.. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Double check the check

3/24/2026 – Double check the check: Rook endings have a large drawish tendency, but Black's last check was a fatal mistake: White to move and win.
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Black knight's knightmare

3/17/2026 – Black knight's knightmare: In the fight bishop against knight the bishop often wants dynamics: White to move and win.
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Deep domination duel

3/10/2026 – Deep domination duel: The fight rook against bishop can be very subtle: White to move and win.
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