Storming the fortress

by Karsten Müller
4/18/2017 – "I don't believe in fortresses", said Magnus Carlsen during his World Championship match against Sergey Karjakin in New York 2016. This skepticism has a reason: a lot of fortresses look stronger than they are.

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Chess Endgames 1 - Basic knowledge for beginners

Endgame theory constitutes the foundation of chess. You realize this in striking clarity once you obtain a won endgame but in the end have to be content with a draw in the end because of a lack of necessary know-how. Such accidents can only be prevented by building up a solid endgame technique. This is Karsten Müller‘s fi rst DVD and the grandmaster from Hamburg and endgame expert, here lays the foundation for acquiring such a technique. The fi rst part of his training series can be started without any endgame knowledge, only a knowledge of the rules of chess is assumed.

 

 

Karsten Müller 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.

Click to go to the ChessBase Magazine page

Apart from his regular columns and video lectures in ChessBase Magazine there is a whole series of training DVDs by Karsten Müller, which are bestsellers in the ChessBase Shop.

 

ChessBase Magazine #177 (April/Mai)

The editor’s top ten: 

1. Finally winning Wijk! Wesley So presents his game against Wojtaszek and explains why victory in the classic tournament in the Netherlands was so important to him. 
2. An “oddball” idea: Levon Aronian explains how with 8.Na3 in the Catalan he achieved a brilliant win against Giri.
3. French aggression: attack together with Simon Williams "Move by Move“ – just like Ju Wenjun did in her victory over Hou Yifan!
4. Spanish temptation: let Rainer Knaak show you how to entice your opponent into the 7.Ng5 trap with 6...d7-d6.
5. “Raving Rooks”: along with Oliver Reeh light some tactical fireworks with double threats and multi-purpose moves (interactive video).
6. For and against the Bogo-Indian: GM Postny sums up the trends of recent years and shows you what is at present recommended.
7. „Portuguese Scandinavian“: let Petra Papp show you how best to meet the gambit 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4.
8. A "mad way to win“: Anish Giri explains how he got Andreikin into trouble with the Scotch and what brilliant engine move he missed at the end.
9. Fantastically shattered: enjoy Rapport's brilliancy against So in Daniel King’s video analysis.
10. Surprise in the Queen’s Indian: let top Swiss player Yannick Pelletier unravel Aronian's 9.Be1 (video).

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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