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

The desperado rook

5/24/2022 – Stalemate motifs often play a role in endgames. In the diagrammed position it is White to move. What would you do?
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Karsten Müller's Endgame Magic Show #195 - with Arne Kaehler

5/23/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #195 Karsten and Arne look at endgame highlights and take a particularly close look at the strengths and weaknesses of knights and "zugzwang", a sharp weapon in the endgame. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.
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The king is a strong piece

5/17/2022 – Passed pawns can be very powerful and they are even more dangerous if they have help from their king. In the diagrammed position it is White to move, and what did he do with his king to support his passed pawns to win the game?
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Endgame Magic Show #194 with Arne Kaehler

5/16/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #194 Karsten Müller is joined by Arne Kaehler, and they look at endgames from the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Oslo Esports Cup, which was won by Jan-Krzysztof Duda. But in one of their individual games tournament favourite Carlsen defeated Duda in an interesting endgame. Take a look! | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.
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Endgame Magic Show #193 with Arne Kaehler

5/9/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #193 Karsten Müller is joined by Arne Kaehler to explore endgames played at the latest round of the Bundesliga, including one which saw Nihal Sarin demonstrating great technique to take down Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.
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Tykhon’s endgame magic!

5/5/2022 – Tykhon Cherniaiev is a 12-year-old Ukrainian Candidate Master and a double world U10 chess champion in Rapid and Blitz. His family fled Ukraine and is now safe in Hamburg. In the latest Endgame Magic Show, the talented kid joined GM Karsten Müller to analyse a few of his most interesting endgames. Take a look! It is now free for all to watch (no ChessBase Premium account needed). | Pictured: Tykhon with his mom Svetlana, his sister Ustynya and GM Anna Muzychuk at the Women’s Bundesliga
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Poisoned Pawn

5/10/2022 – On first sight, things look grim for White in the diagrammed position as it is hard to see what he can do against the advance of Black's f-pawn. However, White remembered the rule that pawn endings should be calculated carefully and found a way to get a draw. What did he do?
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Passed pawns are powerful

5/3/2022 – Passed pawns are often strong and connected passed pawns are even stronger. In the diagrammed position it is White to move - how can he use the power of his passed pawns to win the game?
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Endgame Magic Show #192: Tichon Cherniaev

5/2/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #192 Karsten Müller has a very special guest. Tichon Cherniaev, who's now in Hamburg, joins Karsten on an interesting endgame journey. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.
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Trust the bishop

4/26/2022 – In the diagrammed position White is a piece up but Black's queenside pawns look dangerous. However, the white bishop has everything under control. How does White stop the black pawns and win the game?
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Endgame Magic Show #191: Highlights from the Charity Cup

4/25/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #191 Karsten Müller looks back to the Charity Cup, the second tournament of the Meltwater Chess Champions Tour series of online rapid tournaments, which was played from 19 to 26 March. Magnus Carlsen won after beating Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the final. The Charity Cup brought a lot of interesting endgames and Karsten selected some highlights. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.
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Magnus Magic

4/19/2022 – In knight endgames activity, dominance and zugzwang often play a major role. The diagrammed position is from a game between Vladislav Artemiev and Magnus Carlsen from the Airthings Masters Tournament 2022. How did the World Champion force the win?
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Endgame Magic Show #190: Endgame highlights from the Bundesliga

4/18/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #190 Karsten Müller looks at endgame highlights from the Bundesliga. On 9 and 10 of April the 16 teams in Germany's top league played rounds 3 and 4 of the current season, which led to a number of fascinating endgames which Karsten wants to share with his viewers. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.
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Endgame riddle solved: Najdorf could have drawn against Tal in Bled 1961

4/15/2022 – On 3 April Karsten Müller invited ChessBase readers to analyse the bishop vs knight endgame from Tal vs Najdorf, Bled 1961. The endgame was tricky - Tal won the game but a close look revealed that Najdorf missed a couple of chances to save the draw and that both sides made mistakes.
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The pleasant potential of pawn majorities

4/12/2022 – Having a pawn majority is usually a positional plus because pawn majorities allow you to create passed pawns. But creating these passed pawns usually requires tactical and technical precision. Which Black demonstrated in the diagrammed position. What did Black do to win the game?

Karsten Müller’s Endgame Magic Show #189: Good to know - rook endings

4/11/2022 – In Karsten Müller's "Endgame Magic Show #189" Karsten and Arne Kähler look at rook endings, and take a particularly close look at the rook endgame 4 vs 3 pawns on one side to show important drawing formations. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Endgame Magic Show #189 with Elisabeth Pähtz

4/5/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #189 Karsten Müller talks with Elisabeth Pähtz about the endgame. Elisabeth, World Junior Girls Champion in 2005, European Women's Rapid Champion in 2018, and currently number 13 on the women's ranking list, has an active style, and this also shows in her endgames, e.g. in an entertaining game against Zhansaya Abdumalik at the Online-FIDE-Steinitz-Memorial 2020. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Endgame tactics

4/5/2022 – The diagrammed position is tricky: Black is two dangerous passed pawns up but it is White to move and the rook on h7 is hanging. Now, should White take the rook or look for something better to save the draw?
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