5/12/2021 – Mihail Tal played many mind-boggling and beautiful games full of stunning tactics and surprising sacrifices. Modern engines may find out that Tal's sacrifices might not always have been correct but it is still fun to play through and analyse his games. Now, Karsten Müller invites the ChessBase readers to take a close look at one of Tal's classics.

5/11/2021 – In the diagram position White just attacked the bishop on f6 which is a prelude to a bishop sacrifice on e7 which will allow the white pawns to run. But with correct play the black bishop can stop the pawns. How?

5/4/2021 – The diagram position looks pretty bad for Black. He has a passed pawn that is close to queening and he is to move but White has the nasty threat of 55.Rd8+ that is hard to parry. But Black's knight can do some magic and save the game. What should Black do?

4/27/2021 – In the diagram position White is two pawns up but has only one winning move. Which one?

4/25/2021 – In the endgame riddle from 15 April ChessBase readers were invited to analyse an interesting and complicated endgame knight vs bishop. In the game E. Torre vs O. Jakobsen, Amsterdam 1973, from which the riddle was taken, the knight defeated the bishop, but Karsten Müller wanted to know whether the knight would also have won against best defense. Now, he has the answer.

4/21/2021 – In round eight of the Candidates, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had a difficult endgame against Fabiano Caruna. "MVL" could have drawn but lost. In round nine, "MVL" again had a difficult endgame, this time against Ding Liren. The game ended in a draw but Ding Liren could have won. Karsten Müller took a closer look. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/20/2021 – Fabiano Caruana had a lot of time to prepare for his game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in round 8 of the Candidates, and he used it to find a new and dangerous idea in the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Najdorf, a favourite of the French player. "MVL" survived the opening and escaped into an endgame that objectively was a draw but difficult to defend. Karsten Müller took a closer look.

4/20/2021 – In the fight bishop against knight the bishop is often superior, when it can operate on both wings. In the diagram position White is better. But can she win?

4/15/2021 – The International Master Ole Jakobsen (19 October 1942 - 30 June 2010) from Denmark is not particularly well-known but from 1960 to 1980 he was one of the best players of his country and in 1969, 1971 and 1980 he won the Danish Championship. In 1973 he finished fourth in the IBM-B Tournament in Amsterdam, where he defeated Eugenio Torre, who was soon to become one of the world's best players, in an interesting endgame bishop versus knight. Karsten Müller has taken a closer look at this endgame and invites you to help analysing it.

4/13/2021 – The diagram position is very sharp as both sides have dangerous passed pawns. It's White to move but should White take the pawn on g5 or should White play Rg3+ to win the pawn on h3?

4/6/2021 – The duel knight against bishop is often deep and full of surprises. In the diagram position Black's knight on d1 seems to be in danger to get caught. But can White profit from its precarious position?

4/3/2021 – The Schachfreunde Deizisau won the European Chess Club Cup a few days ago. The star-studded tournament was undoubtedly a top-class event. Good reason for Karsten Müller to examine the extensive game material in detail. During his research, he found bishop-related examples: he discovered an imprisoned bishop, saw how another one fought alone against a number of pawns, and found a pure opposite-coloured bishops endgame that was not a draw. | Photo: Pascal Simon

3/30/2021 – Who is better - bishop or knight? This is an old question and the answer usually is: "It depends". At any rate, the duel knight against bishop is often intriguing and full of surprise. In the diagram position the knight seems to give White good chances to win the game, but in fact Black's bishop can secure the draw. How?

3/23/2021 – Rook endings have drawish tendencies and the diagram position is no exception to this rule. But White must still defend extremely carefully. How exactly?

3/23/2021 – Karsten Müller once again asked our readers for help to solve an endgame riddle. This time, he looked at the 27th game of the first World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. Was Kasparov right when he claimed that the endgame contains a number of mistakes? Turns out he was as, after all, he could have held the draw!

3/16/2021 – Far advanced passed pawns can be powerful. In the diagram position Black's passed pawns are powerful enough to cope with the white bishop and a potentially strong white pawn on the a-file. Black is to move and he can draw the game - do you see how?

3/12/2021 – Karsten Müller once again sets out to find truth in a famous endgame. This time he looks at the 27th game of the 1st World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov, which is generally regarded as a fine example of Karpov's outstanding technique. But how well did Karpov and Kasparov really play the endgame in this famous game?

3/9/2021 – In endgames with opposite coloured bishops creating a fortress often saves the defender. But in the diagram position Black's fortress is not strong enough and zugzwang forces him to self-destruct. White to move and win.