Hidden resources

by Karsten Müller
8/24/2021 – When defending difficult positions you often have to decide whether to search active counterplay or to hope for the best with passive defense. Often, this is a difficult choice and even the very best can go wrong. In the diagram position, which is from a game A. Firouzja vs M. Carlsen, Black is in trouble but has a way to draw. What should Black 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 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 d6 5.f4 Nc6 6.Nf3 a6 7.Bb3 h6 8.Qe2 Bg4 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.Be3 Nd4 11.Qf2 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nh5 13.0-0-0 Nf4 14.Kb1 Nxb3 15.Bxc5 Nxc5 16.Qxc5 Qd6 17.Qxd6 cxd6 18.d4 0-0-0 19.Rd2 Ne6 20.Ne2 Rhf8 21.d5 Ng5 22.Rd3 Nh3 23.Rc1 f5 24.c4 fxe4 25.fxe4 Rf2 26.Nc3 Rxh2 27.c5 Nf4 28.Rdd1 Kb8 29.c6 Rc8 30.Na4 Re2 31.Nb6 Rc7 32.Nd7+ Ka7 33.Rc4 h5 34.Rg1 g6 35.a4 h4 36.b4 b6 37.b5 a5 38.Nxe5 h3 39.Rh1 Nxd5 40.Nxg6 Hidden resources When defending difficult positions you often have to decide whether to search active counterplay or to hope for the best with passive defense. Often, this is a difficult choice and even the very best can go wrong. In the diagram position, which is from a game A. Firouzja vs M. Carlsen, Black is in trouble but has a way to draw. What should Black play?
Black to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firouzja,A2759Carlsen,M28471–02021C30Goldmoney Asian Rapid Prelims 20211.6

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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