Active kings

by Karsten Müller
12/24/2024 – Having an active king is often important in endgames. But sometimes the king is too eager. The diagram shows a position from a game Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi played at the Chennai Grand Masters tournament 2024. Most of the game White had been clearly better, but now Black has a chance to turn the tables around. 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.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bc5 7.Nb3 Bb4 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 d6 11.Ba3 Re8 12.Re1 Qc7 13.Nd4 a6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15.Bc2 Qxc4 16.Qxd6 e5 17.Bb3 Qxc3 18.Rac1 Qa5 19.Bb4 Qd8 20.Qxd8 Rxd8 21.Rc7 Rd7 22.Rec1 Rxc7 23.Rxc7 Be6 24.Bxe6 fxe6 25.f3 b5 26.a3 a5 27.Bc3 b4 28.axb4 axb4 29.Bxb4 Ra1+ 30.Kf2 Ra2+ 31.Kf1 Ra1+ 32.Kf2 Ra2+ 33.Kf1 Ra1+ 34.Be1 Nh5 35.g3 Nf6 36.Re7 Ra3 37.Ke2 Ra6 38.Bc3 Kf8 39.Rb7 Ra2+ 40.Bb2 Nd7 41.Ke3 Ke8 42.h4 Ra5 43.Rc7 g6 44.g4 h5 45.g5 Ra8 46.Rc6 Kf7 47.Kd3 Rb8 48.Kc2 Ra8 49.Rc7 Ke8 50.Rc6 Kf7 51.Kc3 Rb8 52.Ba3 Rb1 53.Rc7 Ke8 54.Rc8+ Kf7 55.Rd8 Nb6 56.Rf8+ Kg7 57.Rf6 Na4+ 58.Kc4 Nb6+ 59.Kc3 Na4+ 60.Kc2 Rb6 61.Bf8+ Kh7 62.Bh6 Rb2+ 63.Kd3 Rb7 64.Bf8 Nb2+ 65.Ke2 Rb6 66.Bh6 Rc6 67.Rf7+ Kh8 68.Rf8+ Kh7 69.Rf7+ Kh8 70.Rg7 Rc2+ 71.Ke3 Rc3+ 72.Kd2 Rxf3 73.Rxg6 Nc4+ 74.Kd1 Rf4 75.Rxe6 Ne3+ 76.Kd2 Ng4 77.Kd3 Kg8 78.Re8+ Kh7 79.Re7+ Kg8 80.Re8+ Kh7 81.Bf8 Nf2+ 82.Kc4 Rxe4+ 83.Kd5 Rxh4 84.Be7 Rg4 85.Ke6 Ne4 86.Kf5 Ng3+ 87.Kxe5 Active kings Having an active king is often important in endgames. But sometimes the king is too eager. The diagram shows a position from a game Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi played at the Chennai Grand Masters tournament 2024. Most of the game White had been clearly better, but now Black has a chance to turn the tables around. What should he do?
Black to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vidit,S2739Erigaisi Arjun27990–1 B44Chennai Grand Masters 20241.3

Karsten Mueller in ChessBase Magazine

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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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