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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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 g6 9.f3 Bg7 10.Be3 0-0 11.0-0 a6 12.Nb3 e6 13.Qe2 Qe7 14.Rfd1 Rfd8 15.Rac1 Rac8 16.Nd4 Nd7 17.b3 b5 18.cxb5 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 20.Rxd4 axb5 21.Qd2 Rb8 22.Rxd6 b4 23.Ne2 Ne5 24.Rd1 Nc6 25.e5 Qa7+ 26.Kh1 Qf2 27.Rc1 Rxd6 28.exd6 Ne5 29.h3 Rb5 30.f4 Nd7 The queenside pawns. In an endgame, outside passed pawns are often very valuable: 31.Qd4! Anand forces a queen exchange after which his queenside pawns will decide the day in the long run. Qxd4 31...Qxe2? is refuted beautifully by 32.Rc8+ Nf8 33.Rxf8+ Kxf8 34.Qh8# 32.Nxd4 Rd5 33.Nc6 Rxd6 34.Nxb4 White conntected passed pawns will win. e5 After 34...Rd4 35.Nc6 Rxf4 one sample line runs: 36.a4 Rf2 37.a5 Ra2 38.b4 Kf8 39.b5 Ke8 40.a6 Nb6 41.Rd1 Nd7 42.a7 f5 43.b6 Nxb6 44.Rd8+ Kf7 45.Rb8+- This shows the power of the passed pawns. 35.fxe5 Nxe5 36.Rc5 Rd1+ 36...Nd7 allows 37.Rd5+- 37.Kh2 f6 38.a4 Rb1 39.Rc3 Ra1 40.Rc7 40.Rc7 and the activation of White's knight will win, e. g. Ra3 41.Nd5 Rxb3 42.Nxf6+ Kf8 43.Nxh7+ Ke8 44.Nf6+ Kd8 45.Nd5 Ra3 46.Re7 Nd7 47.Re6 g5 48.Rg6 Ke8 49.Rxg5 Rxa4 50.Rf5+- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2751Vachier-Lagrave,M27501–02022B5210th Norway Chess 20221.1
Carlsen,M2864Mamedyarov,S27591–02022D7810th Norway Chess 20226.1
Tari,A2654Wang,H27441–02022B2310th Norway Chess Blitz 20229.3
Anand,V2751Carlsen,M28641–02022C505.2

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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