Endgame basics

by Karsten Müller
9/10/2024 – The diagram shows a well-known theoretical endgame: King, knight and h-pawn against king and bishop. How does Black win?
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 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Qc2 e5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Be2 Bd6 8.Ne4 N7f6 9.Nxd6+ Qxd6 10.d3 Bg4 11.a3 0-0 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 a5 14.0-0 c5 15.Bd2 b6 16.Rab1 Rad8 17.Rfd1 Rfe8 18.Be1 h6 19.g3 Re7 20.Bg2 Rde8 21.Rdc1 Rd8 22.Qa4 Red7 23.Bf1 Qe7 24.Qb5 Rd6 25.Rc2 Nc7 26.Qc4 Ncd5 27.Rbc1 R6d7 28.Qb5 Rd6 29.Qc4 R6d7 30.Qa2 Rd6 31.b3 Re8 32.Qb2 Nd7 33.Rc4 Qe6 34.Bg2 Qe7 35.h4 Rd8 36.Bh3 N7f6 37.Qc2 Nd7 38.Qe2 N7f6 39.h5 Nc7 40.Bf5 Ncd5 41.Qf3 Qe8 42.Bh3 Nh7 43.Bf1 Ng5 44.Qe2 f5 45.b4 axb4 46.axb4 Nxb4 47.Bxb4 cxb4 48.f4 Nh7 49.Rxb4 Nf6 50.d4 exf4 51.exf4 Ne4 52.Qf3 Rxd4 53.Rxd4 Rxd4 54.Qe3 Rd8 55.g4 Nf6 56.Bc4+ Kh8 57.Qxe8+ Rxe8 58.g5 Nxh5 59.Bf7 Nxf4 60.Rc7 Rf8 61.gxh6 gxh6 62.Bb3 Rf6 63.Kf2 Nd3+ 64.Ke3 Nc5 65.Ba2 f4+ 66.Kf3 Nd3 67.Re7 Nb4 68.Bc4 Nc6! 69.Re4 Kg7 70.Bf1 Kg6 71.Rxf4 h5 72.Rxf6+ Kxf6 73.Kf4 Ne7 74.Ke4 Kg5 75.Ke5 Nf5 76.Bh3 Ne3 77.Ke4 Ng4 78.Bf1 h4 79.Bg2 Nf6+ 80.Ke5 Nh5 81.Bh3 b5 82.Kd4 Kf4 83.Kc5 Kg3 84.Bd7 Nf6 85.Bxb5 h3 86.Kd4 h2 87.Bc6 Kf2 88.Kd3 Ng4 89.Kd2 Ne3 90.Bh1 Ng2 91.Kd1 Kf1 92.Kd2 Endgame basics The diagram shows a well-known theoretical endgame: King, knight and h-pawn against king and bishop. How does Black win?
Black to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Shankland,S2683Mishra,A26270–12024A11Biel Festival Masters Qual 20242.2

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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