A draw - but not always an easy one

by Karsten Müller
4/16/2024 – Usually the endgame rook and knight against rook is an easy draw. But matters are different, when the defending king is in trouble near the corner of the board. In the diagram position, it is Black to move and draw. What should he do?
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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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.e4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 c5 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 f5 10.exf6 Nxf6 11.cxd5 exd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.Be3 Kh8 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Ne2 Bd7 16.Rac1 a5 17.Bc5 Bxc5 18.Qxc5 Qb8 19.b3 Ng4 20.f4 a4 21.b4 a3 22.Rc3 h6 23.h3 Nf6 24.Bg6 Ne4 25.Bxe4 dxe4 26.f5 Qe8 27.g4 Qf7 28.Nf4 Kh7 29.Rf2 Rfb8 30.Re3 Rb5 31.Qd6 Re8 32.Rd2 Bxf5 33.gxf5 Rxf5 34.Ng2 Re6 35.Qd7 Rf1+ 36.Kh2 Qxd7 37.Rxd7 Rf2 38.Kg3 Rxa2 39.Nf4 Re5 40.h4 Ra1 41.Ra7 a2 42.Ng2 h5 43.Rea3 Rb5 44.Rxa2 Rxa2 45.Rxa2 g5 46.hxg5 Rxg5+ 47.Kf4 Rb5 48.Ne3 Rxb4 49.Kg5 Rb7 50.Nf5 c5 51.Kf6 c4 52.Rh2 Rb6+ 53.Kf7 Rb7+ 54.Ke6 c3 55.Nd6 Rc7 56.Rxh5+ Kg6 57.Rh1 c2 58.Rg1+ Kh5 59.Rc1 e3 60.Nf5 Rc3 61.Nd4 e2 62.Nxe2 Rc8 63.Nd4 Kg4 64.Ke5 Kg3 65.Ke4 Kh2 66.Kf3 Rf8+ 67.Kg4 Rg8+ 68.Kf4 Rf8+ 69.Nf5 Rc8 70.Kf3 Rc7 71.Nh6 Rc3+ 72.Kf2 Rc4 73.Kf3 Rc3+ 74.Ke2 Rc8 75.Nf5 Kg2 76.Ne3+ Kg3 77.Nxc2 Kh2 78.Kd3 Kg3 79.Rf1 Rd8+ 80.Nd4 Rd7 81.Rf6 Rd8 82.Ke3 Re8+ 83.Ne6 Ra8 84.Rg6+ Kh2 85.Nd4 Kh3 86.Rg5 Ra3+ 87.Kf4 Ra4 88.Ke4 Ra1 89.Nf5 Kh2 90.Kf3 Ra3+ 91.Ne3 Rb3 92.Ra5 A draw - but not always an easy one Usually the endgame rook and knight against rook is an easy draw. But matters are different, when the defending king is in trouble near the corner of the board. In the diagram position, it is Black to move and draw. What should he do?
Black to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Lokander,M2462Zelcic,R24761–02024E32German Bundesliga 2023-2410.8

Karsten Mueller in ChessBase Magazine

Do you like these lessons? There are plenty more by internationally renowned endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller in ChessBase Magazine, where you will also find openings articles and surveys, tactics, and of course annotations by the world's top grandmasters.

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Apart from his regular columns and video lectures in ChessBase Magazine there is a whole series of training DVDs by Karsten Mueller, which are bestsellers in the ChessBase Shop.

Karsten Mueller

Karsten Mueller regularly presents endgame lessons in the ChessBase Video Portal

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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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