Endgames from Dürres

by Karsten Müller
11/8/2023 – Magnus Carlsen’s Offerspill had a stellar performance at the 2023 European Chess Club Cup. The tournament took place in Dürres, Albania at the start of October. GM Karsten Müller found plenty of endgame highlights to share with us ChessBase readers. Find here thirteen instructive positions, with helpful, to-the-point analyses — perfect for those looking to improve their endgame abilities! | Pictured: David Anton | Photo: Niki Riga
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Extra (passed) pawns, still a draw

Mindlessly entering an endgame with one or even two extra pawns might lead to unwelcomed surprises. On the other hand, for the defensive side, keeping an eye for hidden recourses until the very end is surely worth it.

In the penultimate round of the European Club Cup, Offerspill obtained a key draw against Superchess, the rating favourites in Albania. Pranav Venkatesh, who had a great performance for Offerspill, defeated Jorden van Foreest with the white pieces. Van Foreest, however, could have escaped with a draw despite being two pawns down in a rook endgame.

Pranav vs. Van Foreest

It is Black to move here. Keeping the rook on the h-file with 61...Rh8, as seen in the game, allowed White to improve his position via 62.Kf3 Kh4 63.Rf3, when 63...Kxh3 loses in straightforward fashion, while after 63...Rf8+ 64.Kg2 White is ready to make progress.

61...Rf7, on the other hand, draws. Check out all the relevant lines that demonstrate the path to a half point in the replayer below.

Somewhat similarly, Jonas Barkhagen could have dealt with Kirill Shevchenko’s connected passers and escape with a draw in the following knight ending.

Shevchenko vs. Barkhagen

79...h1Q 80.Nxh1 Nxh1 was followed by resignation, since White will simply trap the knight on the corner starting with 81.Kf3.

The alternative 79...Ne2+ draws, as Black will continue to harass the white king with checks while transferring the knight to a useful defensive spot while the white knight is busy keeping an eye on the h-pawn.

These are only two of the thirteen instructive endgame positions which you can study and enjoy in our dynamic replayer below.

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.a4 Bd7 10.Bc2 Re8 11.Re1 h6 12.h3 Bf8 13.Nbd2 Ne7 14.d4 Ng6 15.Nf1 Qb8 16.Ng3 Bc6 17.Bd2 Qb7 18.Qb1 Bd7 19.b4 bxa4 20.Bxa4 Bxa4 21.Rxa4 d5 22.exd5 Nxd5 23.dxe5 Qc6 24.Qb3 Nb6 25.Ra2 Nc4 26.Nd4 Qd5 27.f4 Rad8 28.Bc1 Bxb4 29.cxb4 Qxd4+ 30.Kh2 Nb6 31.e6 Qd5 32.Qb1 Qd3 33.Qa1 fxe6 34.Rd2 Qb5 35.Rxd8 Rxd8 36.f5 exf5 37.Bxh6 Rd7 38.Nh5 Qxb4 39.Bxg7 Qd6+ 40.Kh1 Nd5 41.Be5 Nxe5 42.Rxe5 Nc3 43.Qxc3 Qd1+ 44.Kh2 Qxh5 45.g4 Qh6 46.Rxf5 Qd2+ 47.Qxd2 Rxd2+ 48.Kg3 Rd8 49.Ra5 Ra8 50.Kf4 c5 51.Ke4 Kg7 52.Kd5 Rh8 53.Ra3 Rc8 54.Rxa6 c4 55.Ra2 c3 56.Rc2 Kg6 57.Kd4 Rd8+ 58.Kxc3 Rh8 59.Rh2 Kg5 60.Kd4 Rh7 61.Ke4 Breaking the blockade. Rook endings can be deep. Sometimes even two extra pawns cannot win: Rh8? Now White can regroup. 61...Rf7 draws, e.g. 62.Ke3 Ra7 62...Rf8? 63.Rf2+- 63.Rd2 Kh4 64.Kf4 Rf7+ 65.Ke5 Ra7 66.Rd3 Kg5 67.Ke6 Rh7 68.Rd5+ Kg6= 61...Kh4? 62.Kf5+- 62.Kf3 First the king retreats. Kh4 63.Re2 Rf8+ 63...Kxh3 is met by 64.Re5! Kh4 65.Kf4 Rh7 66.Rf5 Rh8 67.Rf7 Rh6 68.g5 Rh5 69.g6+- 64.Kg2 Ra8 65.Re7 Ra2+ 65...Ra3 66.Rh7+ Kg5 67.Rh5+ Kg6 68.Rf5+- 66.Kf3 Now the king returns in full glory. Ra3+ 67.Kf4 Ra4+ 68.Kf5 Ra5+ 69.Kf6 Ra6+ 70.Re6 Ra5 70...Ra8 71.g5 Rf8+ 72.Kg7 Rf1 73.g6+- 71.Kg6 Ra3 72.g5 Re3 A last desperate try. 72...Ra5 73.Kh6 Rxg5 74.Re4++- 73.Rf6 Rf3 74.Kh6 Of course not 74.Rxf3 stalemate. 74...Rxh3 75.g6 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Pranav,V2579Van Foreest,J26971–02023C8438th ECCC Open 20236.10
Shevchenko,K2675Barkhagen,J24251–02023A1138th ECCC Open 20232.4
Anton Guijarro,D2693Fedoseev,V26761–02023B3138th ECCC Open 20237.5
Stevik,P2214Brkic,A26080–12023E1138th ECCC Open 20235.29
Cornette,M2582Urkedal,F25031–02023C6738th ECCC Open 20237.12
Garcia Molina,J2257Degraeve,J24870–12023A5838th ECCC Open 20232.23
Huzman,A2526Delchev,A25161–02023E0438th ECCC Open 20236.18
Kilic,E2433Santos Latasa,J26561–02023B5138th ECCC Open 20237.17
Mamedyarov,S2747Rapport,R2752½–½2023D0338th ECCC Open 20234.1
Martirosyan,H2683Sadhwani,R2624½–½2023C6738th ECCC Open 20237.8
Rapport,R2752Vachier-Lagrave,M2739½–½2023B5238th ECCC Open 20235.1
Trost,E2442Fedoseev,V26760–12023B3238th ECCC Open 20232.3
Urkedal,F2503O`Donnell,C22911–02023D5038th ECCC Open 20232.11

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 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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