Backwards is the way forward

by Karsten Müller
7/4/2023 – Endgames, in which a rook fights against a bishop, can be complicated. In the diagram position Black is an exchange up and has a winning position. But 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 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 8.e4 exd4 9.Nxd4 Nc5 10.h3 Re8 11.Re1 h6 12.Rb1 a5 13.b3 c6 14.Bf4 Nh7 15.Qd2 Ng5 16.h4 Bxd4 17.Qxd4 Nge6 18.Qxd6 Nxf4 19.Qxf4 Nd3 20.Qxh6 Nxe1 21.Rxe1 Qd4 22.Ne2 Qe5 23.Qe3 a4 24.Nd4 axb3 25.Nf3 Qb2 26.axb3 Ra2 27.Bf1 Ra1 28.h5 Rxe1 29.Nxe1 gxh5 30.Nf3 Bf5 31.e5 Bg6 32.Bh3 Qb1+ 33.Kg2 f6 34.Qf4 Be4 35.exf6 Kf7 36.Kh2 Bxf3 37.Qxf3 Qg6 38.Bf5 Qg5 39.c5 Re5 40.Bc8 Qxf6 41.Qxf6+ Kxf6 42.Bxb7 Rxc5 43.Ba6 Rc2 44.Kg2 Ke5 45.Bc4 Rb2 46.Kf3 Kd4 47.Bf7 c5 48.Bc4 Ra2 49.Bf7 Ra8 50.Kg2 Rf8 51.Bc4 Ke4 52.Be2 Rb8 53.Bc4 Rh8 54.f3+ Kf5 55.f4 Rd8 56.Kf3 Rd1 57.Be2 Rc1 58.Bd3+ Backwards is the way forward Endgames, in which a rook fights against a bishop, can be complicated. In the diagram position Black is an exchange up and has a winning position. But what should he do?
Black to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Eljanov,P2706Shevchenko,K26620–1 E69German Bundesliga 2022-2313.9

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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