Anand's defensive skills

by Karsten Müller
4/30/2024 – The diagram position is from a game Hikaru Nakamura and Vishy Anand played in the Bundesliga. Black is a pawn down and obviously in trouble. However, there's a reason why Anand is well-known for his defensive skills. How did he save the game?
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.e41,180,95054%2421---
1.d4956,91055%2434---
1.Nf3285,50956%2441---
1.c4184,27056%2442---
1.g319,85756%2427---
1.b314,56954%2428---
1.f45,94648%2377---
1.Nc33,89750%2383---
1.b41,78848%2379---
1.a31,24754%2406---
1.e31,08049%2409---
1.d396550%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446554%2381---
1.c343851%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.h3 c6 11.Qf3 Bd6 12.Re1 Nd7 13.Bf4 Nc5 14.Rad1 Rb8 15.b3 Qf6 16.Ne2 a5 17.Bxd6 Qxd6 18.c4 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 a4 20.bxa4 Ba6 21.Qc3 Qb4 22.cxd5 Bxe2 23.Qxb4 Rxb4 24.Rxe2 cxd5 25.Rxd5 Rxa4 26.Red2 h5 27.Kf1 Rfa8 28.Rd8+ Rxd8 29.Rxd8+ Kh7 30.Rd2 h4 31.Ke2 g5 32.Kd3 g4 33.hxg4 Rxg4 34.f3 Ra4 35.Kc3 h3 36.gxh3 Ra3+ 37.Kc4 Rxf3 38.Rd3 Rf1 39.a4 Ra1 40.Kb5 f5 41.Rd4 Anand's defensive skills The diagram position is from a game Hikaru Nakamura and Vishy Anand played in the Bundesliga. Black is a pawn down and obviously in trouble. However, there's a reason why Anand is well-known for his defensive skills. How did he save the game?
Black to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2788Anand,V2748½–½2024C47German Bundesliga 2023-2410.25

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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