Fortress building

by Karsten Müller
8/17/2021 – In the diagram position White is a pawn down and Black's king is threatening to enter White's position. However, White can hope to save a draw if he manages to build a solid fortress. In the diagram position it is White to move - what would you play?
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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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Be2 Ngf6 7.0-0 e6 8.Rd1 Be7 9.Nc3 Qc7 10.a4 0-0 11.a5 Rd8 12.Be3 Ng4 13.Bg5 Ngf6 14.Qc4 Qxc4 15.Bxc4 b5 16.axb6 Nxb6 17.Be2 Bb7 18.Nd2 Rd7 19.Bd3 Rc7 20.f3 d5 21.Be3 dxe4 22.Ndxe4 Nfd5 23.Bd4 f6 24.b3 Kf7 25.Nxd5 Nxd5 26.Bc4 a5 27.c3 g5 28.Ra4 f5 29.Ng3 Bc5 30.Bxc5 Rxc5 31.Bxd5 Bxd5 32.c4 Bc6 33.Ra3 a4 34.Rda1 Rg8 35.bxa4 g4 36.f4 Rxc4 37.Ne2 Rb8 38.R3a2 Bd5 39.a5 Rcb4 40.Rd2 Rb2 41.Rad1 Rxd2 42.Rxd2 Ra8 43.Nc3 Rxa5 44.Kf2 Bc6 45.Nd1 Ra4 46.g3 Ra1 47.Nb2 Rh1 48.Nd3 Rxh2+ 49.Ke3 Rxd2 50.Kxd2 Ke7 51.Ne5 Kd6 52.Ke3 Kd5 53.Kd3 Be8 54.Ke3 h5 55.Nd3 Kc4 56.Ne5+ Kc3 57.Nd3 h4 58.gxh4 g3 Fortress building In the diagram position White is a pawn down and Black's king is threatening to enter White's position. However, White can hope to save a draw if he manages to build a solid fortress. In the diagram position it is White to move - what would you play?
White to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Deac,B2627Aronian,L27810–12021B51GCT Superbet Romania 20218.4

Karsten Mueller 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.

ChessBase Magazine #202

 

ChessBase Magazine Extra #201

 

Apart from his regular columns and video lectures in ChessBase Magazine there is a whole series of training DVDs by Karsten Mueller, which are bestsellers in the ChessBase Shop.

Karsten Mueller

Karsten Mueller regularly presents endgame lessons in the ChessBase Video Portal

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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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