A good knight

by Karsten Müller
7/15/2025 – Gukesh knows where to put his pieces. In the diagram position he had to find a way to stop Black's pawns. He did so and went on to win one of the most discussed games of the year. What did 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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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,185,00854%2421---
1.d4959,51055%2434---
1.Nf3286,50356%2441---
1.c4184,83456%2442---
1.g319,89256%2427---
1.b314,60054%2428---
1.f45,95448%2377---
1.Nc33,91150%2384---
1.b41,79148%2379---
1.a31,25054%2406---
1.e31,08149%2409---
1.d396950%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446654%2382---
1.c343951%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39366%2506---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.h3 a6 8.Ba4 h6 9.Re1 b5 10.Bc2 Bb6 11.Nbd2 Ne7 12.a4 Rb8 13.d4 Ng6 14.Nf1 c5 15.Ng3 cxd4 16.cxd4 bxa4 17.Bxa4 Bb7 18.d5 a5 19.Be3 Bc8 20.b3 Bxe3 21.Rxe3 Nf4 22.Bc6 Rb4 23.Qc2 g6 24.Kh1 Ba6 25.Qa2 Bd3 26.Nd2 h5 27.Qxa5 Qxa5 28.Rxa5 h4 29.Ra4 Rfb8 30.Ra2 Kg7 31.Ra7 Rd4 32.Nf3 hxg3 33.fxg3 Nxh3 34.gxh3 Bxe4 35.Kh2 Rd1 36.g4 Bxd5 37.Bxd5 Nxd5 38.Re2 Nf4 39.Rc2 Kf6 40.h4 Ke6 41.Ng5+ Kd5 42.Ra5+ Kd4 43.Ra4+ Kd3 44.Rf2 f6 45.Rf3+ Ke2 46.Ra2+ Rd2 47.Rxd2+ Kxd2 48.Ne4+ Ke2 49.Kg3 d5 50.Nxf6 Rf8 51.Rf2+ Ke1 52.Nd7 Ne2+ 53.Rxe2+ Kxe2 54.Nxf8 d4 55.Ne6 d3 56.Nc5 Ke3
White to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gukesh,D2787Carlsen,M28371–02025C65Norway Chess 20256

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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Topics: ChessBase Magazine, Endgame, Karsten Mueller
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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A study in a practical game

7/1/2025 – Endgames studies often contain a surprising, unexpected idea that seem to be paradoxical. The diagram position is from a practical game that ended in a draw. However, White had a study-like way to win. Do you see what he should have done?
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Video

60m English A practical repertoire against the scotch

For a long time the Scotch opening was considered harmless and rarely played. This changed in 1990 when Garry Kasparov successfully employed the Scotch opening in his World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. But that was 25 years ago. Now, there is no need to panic if you want to play 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 and need a line against the Scotch. On this 60 Minutes renowned and successful coach Adrian Mikhalchishin gives simple practical tips how to neutralize and counter the Scotch.

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