Going the extra mile

by Karsten Müller
5/23/2017 – Sometimes you need patience - and zugzwang - to win a won endgame: The following interesting duel which Remy Heimers sent to me with annotations is an instructive example:
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Sometimes you need patience - and zugzwang - to win a won endgame: The following interesting duel which Remy Heimers sent to me with annotations is an instructive example: 64.Kb4 Black is a piece up but winning this position is everything but easy. White has a dangerous passed pawn on f6 which has to be kept under permanent control. If Black's king were chained to this pawn Black would not be able to win. Therefore Black's bishop has to control the pawn to give the black king room for maneuver. If Black could simply beam his bishop to e8, his task would be easy. However, even if Black sacrificed his pawn on b5, his bishop would not come to e8. No, Black has to give the pawn on b5 and and the pawn on h5 to bring his bishop to e8. Then he can bring his king to the center - and then Black will be able to force White into "zugzwang". 64.Kb4 In the game Black saw no way to convert his material advantage into a win and agreed to a draw. 64...Be2 65.Kc5
Black to play and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Thiemke,R1431Siegert,P1632½–½2010D46Vereinsturnier Villingen 2009-107

 

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/May)

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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