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

When precision is needed

8/14/2018 – Rook endings are often drawn. Theoretically. In practice even drawn endgames usually require a lot of precision.

Friends...

8/7/2018 – Is it really lonely at the top? In chess, it's definitely not. In fact, the king usually has lots of friends that are willing to do everything to protect and to support him.

The sharpest endgame weapons

7/31/2018 – Dominating the enemy and zugzwang are often the sharpest weapons of the attacker in the endgame.

Endgame Magic with guest IM Michael Rahal

7/31/2018 – Joining Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice today is IM Michael Rahal, who is in Hamburg again to commentate live on the British Championship. Watch live at 13:00 CEST (7:00 AM EDT) or later on-demand!

A free path for the passed pawn

7/24/2018 – Rook endings require precision, rook endings with passed pawns even more. And precision sometimes requires to make moves that seem to be counter-intuitive, paradoxical, like retreating when you want to advance.

Endgame Magic with guest GM Mihail Marin

7/17/2018 – Joining Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice today is GM Mihail Marin, who is in Hamburg again to record a DVD. Mihail also does the strategy column of the ChessBase Magazine. Watch live at 15:00 CEST (9:00 AM EDT) or later on-demand!

Fateful pawn moves

7/17/2018 – Pawn endings are tricky. Theoretically, you can often calculate them to the very end - if you can calculate them to the very end!

A light-footed knight

7/10/2018 – Knights are generally unable to cover a lot of ground in a hurry, but sometimes they can get a boost from tactical stricks and hustle across the board.

Sometimes a good team: rook and knight

7/3/2018 – Usually, the endgame rook and knight vs rook is a draw when no more pawns are left on the board. But when the defending king is caught in the corner the attacking side sometimes has winning chances.

Endgame Magic with guest Arne Bracker

6/26/2018 – Joining Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice today is Arne Bracker, who joined the ChessBase staff earlier this year. Arne is a strong amateur player with a peak FIDE Elo rating of 2272. Watch live at 14:00 CEST (8:00 AM EDT) or later on-demand!

The fortress - real or an illusion?

6/26/2018 – Some players believe in fortresses, others do not. But no matter whether you are believer or not, some fortresses are real and really solid. In the endgame rooks are usually much better than a knight. But with pawns on one side, the defending side might build a fortress:

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.