Endgames from Stavanger

by Karsten Müller
6/9/2022 – A number of remarkable endgames from the Norway Chess tournament have caught the eye of GM Karsten Müller. In the four games included in this article, our in-house specialist shows examples of active defence with a pair of rooks, the strength of a bishop pair in an open position and the advantage of having outside passed pawns in an endgame. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess
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Instructive endings

Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand are fighting neck and neck to win the tenth edition of the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger. For spectators, following such strong grandmasters in a super-tournament serves as prime entertainment, but it can also be a great chance to learn from the very best in the world.

For example, can you find Anand’s move with white in the following position? It might not seem immediately relevant, but having the extra pawn on the queenside is a key factor.

 
Anand vs. Vachier-Lagrave

In the next example, Carlsen had the bishop pair and more active pieces against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The Azerbaijani tried to defend actively with 46...Qb3, which was a losing mistake. How did Carlsen increase his advantage? And what should have Shakh played instead of placing his queen on b3?

 
Carlsen vs. Mamedyarov

Find the answers to these questions and two more instructive analyses in the replayer below.

 
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In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.

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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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