Endgames from Munich

by Karsten Müller
2/18/2023 – Last Monday, Alexandra Kosteniuk (pictured) won the second stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, a 12-player single round-robin that took place in Munich, Germany. GM Karsten Müller followed the games closely, and sent us a selection of thought-provoking endgames. Find here six instructive positions, annotated by our in-house expert. | Photo: Mark Livshitz / FIDE
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Underestimating the opponent’s attacking chances

In round 8, Alexandra Kosteniuk scored her fifth win of the event. The eventual champion defeated Anna Muzychuk by converting an opposite-coloured bishops endgame (with rooks still on the board) in which she had an extra pawn.

 

Closing the king’s inroads

King activity is often crucial in endgames, as proven in the confrontation between Alina Kashlinskaya and Humpy Koneru.

 

A surprising king move

In a battle of rising talents, Zhu Jiner defeated Dinara Wagner from the black side of a pure opposite-coloured bishops ending.

 

Do not rush

Yet another pure opposite-coloured bishops endgame that did not finish in a draw. Nana Dzagnidze rushed with her pawn push on move 36, but Tan Zhongyi failed to find the refutation that would have granted her a half point.

 

The cut-off - Part I

Cutting off the king is a useful tool in rook endgames. Alina Kashlinskaya could have drawn her game against Dinara Wagner had she employed this idea on move 62.

 

The cut-off - Part II

A similar idea was seen in the game between Elisabeth Paehtz and Zhu Jiner from the penultimate round. In this example, it was White who failed to cut off the opposite king when it mattered most.

 

Let endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller show and explain the finesses of the world champions. Although they had different styles each and every one of them played the endgame exceptionally well, so take the opportunity to enjoy and learn from some of the best endgames in the history of chess.

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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.

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