Endgames from Madrid (2)

by Karsten Müller
6/24/2022 – Eight of the strongest players in the world are fighting in Madrid to get a shot in the next match for the world crown. Deep opening preparation and maximum focus often lead to slightly better (or worse) endgames. GM Karsten Müller aims his attention at the last stage of the game, as he compiles the most salient and instructive endings from the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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In round 4, Richard Rapport and Hikaru Nakamura reached an ending with rooks, knights and seven pawns per side. In the diagrammed position, the pawns on e4 and b7 are under attack, and it is White to move. Would you capture the pawn? If not, how to proceed?

 
Rapport vs. Nakamura - Round 4

Rapport played the quiet 26.h3 and went on to safely get the draw. Had he gone for 26.Nxb7, Black would have got a dangerous initiative after 26...c4 27.Rd5 Rb8 28.Rb5 Nxe4.

Alireza Firouzja had two far-advanced passers on the kingside and an agile bishop against Hikaru Nakamura’s knight in the following endgame. But Naka found the way to force a draw from this position. How did he start?

 
Firouzja vs. Nakamura - Round 3

41...c3, and not 41...e5, is the right way to start the race. Pure knight against bishop endgames can be very deep!

Find analyses for these two positions and two more endgames 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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