The desperado

by Karsten Müller
4/28/2020 – "All rook endings are drawn" is a well-known witticism that highlights the fact that rook endings indeed have high drawish tendencies. In fact, even being one or two pawns up does not guarantee a win. However, the diagram position is definitely not a draw. How can Black win?

Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen

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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Karsten Mueller in ChessBase Magazine

Chess Endgames 2 - Rook Endgames

With this second volume of his endgame training series, grandmaster and endgame expert Dr Karsten Mueller continues to lay the solid foundations for the last phase of the game.
Part II is dedicated exclusively to rook endgames: rook versus pawn, rook and pawn versus rook, rook and rook pawn versus rook, rook and two connected pawns versus rook.

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.

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


Chess Endgames 8 - Practical Rook Endgames

Rook endings are amongst the most frequently encountered endgames there are, and so your training effort will be quickly repaid in the form of half and full points. Knowing even a few rules of thumb and key methods makes life a great deal easier and provides a guiding light even in complex positions. This DVD focuses on the important themes which are to be found in common rook endings.


Highlights of this issue

  • CBM 193

    The cunning 6.a3!?
    Alexander Seyb investigates a fresh way to tackle the Najdorf

  • IQP positions welcome!
    Robert Hungaski recommends 3.e3 e5! In the QGA

  • Middlegames without minor pieces
    Mihail Marin on successful strategies with queen and rooks

  • All for the trade of queens - 13.g4!? vs. the Maroczy
    David Navara dissects his endgame triumph over Dmitry Jakovenko in Jerusalem

  • “My favourite game of 2019”
    Together with Simon Williams, retrace the game Dubov-Svane - “Move by Move”!

  • Star analyses
    Annotated games by Giri, Firouzja, So, Duda, Navara, Van Foreest, Nielsen, Sarin, l’Ami and more

  • A fresh wind against the Caro-Kann Exchange Variation
    Roven Vogel recommends  ...♝f5 as an antidote

  • My first draw against the World Champion!
    Jan-Krzysztof Duda analyses an explosive encounter from Wijk

  • Dutch duel
    Anish Giri reviews his game vs. Jorden Van Foreest

  • Long-term compensation
    Real sacrifices are the ones not leading to victory directly. Interactive video with Oliver Reeh!

  • Quiet move decides king hunt
    Rainer Knaak presents another trap in the Philidor Defence (video)


Links


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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