Breaking the fortress

by Karsten Müller
12/3/2024 – In the diagram position White plays with a queen against a rook. However, as only a few pawns are left on the board, Black has chances to create a fortress and save the draw. What should White do to win 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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1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.b3 0-0 6.Bb2 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.h4 Nxc3 10.dxc3 Bxf3 11.gxf3 Bf6 12.Bd3 h6 13.0-0-0 Qe7 14.Be4 c6 15.Qe2 Rc8 16.h5 Nd7 17.Bc2 Nf8 18.f4 a5 19.Kb1 a4 20.Rhg1 axb3 21.Bxb3 b5 22.e4 e5 23.fxe5 Bxe5 24.f4 Bxf4 25.Rdf1 Be5 26.Rxf7 Qxf7 27.Bxf7+ Kxf7 28.c4 Bxb2 29.Qxb2 Ne6 30.Rg6 Rf8 31.Qe5 Rae8 32.cxb5 cxb5 33.Kb2 Re7 34.Qxb5 Kg8 35.Qd5 Rfe8 36.Rg3 Kh8 37.e5 Rd8 38.Qa5 Rde8 39.Re3 Rb8+ 40.Rb3 Rbe8 41.Rb4 Ng5 42.Rb5 Nf3 43.a4 Nxe5 44.Qc3 Nd7 45.Qd4 Re2+ 46.Ka3 Ne5 47.Rb3 Rd2 48.Qc3 Rd5 49.Qc7 Rdd8 50.Rc3 Rd7 51.Qc5 Rd1 52.Qb5 Rdd8 53.a5 Rb8 54.Qd5 Rbd8 55.Qb7 Rd7 56.Qb5 Rdd8 57.a6 Rb8 58.Qd5 Ra8 59.Qd6 Nf7 60.Qb6 Reb8 61.Qe6 Ne5 62.Rc7 Re8 63.Qb6 Reb8 64.Qd6 Rd8 65.Qxe5 Rxa6+ 66.Kb4 Rg8 67.Rf7 Raa8 68.Re7 Ra6 69.Rf7 Raa8 70.Kb5 Rgb8+ 71.Kc6 Rc8+ Breaking the fortress In the diagram position White plays with a queen against a rook. However, as only a few pawns are left on the board, Black has chances to create a fortress and save the draw. What should White do to win the game?
White to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Miezis,N2417Castro Torres,J2299½–½2024A1345th FIDE Olympiad 20243.96

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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