Is a knight on the rim always dim?

by Karsten Müller
9/3/2024 – In the diagram position, White is a pawn down and his knight seems to be far away from the action. However, White can hold the game. How?
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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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 f5 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 b5 7.Bb3 Na5 8.Bxg8 Rxg8 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Nxd4 Qh4 11.Nc3 Qg4 12.f3 Qg6 13.Nce2 0-0-0 14.Qd3 Nc4 15.a4 Nxe5 16.Qb3 Bc5 17.axb5 axb5 18.Kh1 Rde8 19.Nxb5 Rgf8 20.Nf4 Qf7 21.Qc3 Qc4 22.Qxc4 Nxc4 23.Nd3 Bb6 24.Bf4 Re2 25.b3 Ne3 26.Rae1 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Nd5 28.Be5 Ba6 29.Nc3 Ne3 30.Ra1 Kb7 31.Na4 d6 32.Nxb6 Nxc2 33.Nd7 Nxa1 34.N3c5+ Ka7 35.Nxf8 dxe5 36.Nfe6 Bc8 37.Nxg7 Kb6 38.Nd3 e4 39.fxe4 fxe4 40.Nc1 Kc5 41.Kg1 Kd4 42.Kf2 c5 43.Nh5 e3+ 44.Kf3 Bb7+ 45.Kf4 Bxg2 46.Ng3 Kc3 47.Kxe3 Nxb3 48.Nge2+ Kc2 49.Nxb3 Kxb3 50.Kd2 Bf3 51.Nc1+ Kc4 52.Ke3 Bh5 53.Kd2 Bg4 54.Kc2 Bh5 55.Kd2 Bf7 56.Ne2 Be8 57.Nf4 Ba4 58.Ne2 Bd7 59.Nc1 Kd5 60.Ke3 Bb5! 61.Nb3 Bc4 62.Nd2 Ba2 63.Ne4 Kc4 64.Nf6 Bb1 65.Nd7 Bf5 66.Nb6+ Kc3 67.Nd5+ Kc2 68.Nb6 Kb3 69.Nd5 Be6 70.Nf4 Bc4 71.Kd2 h6 72.Ng2 Bf7 73.Ne3 Bg6 74.h4 h5 75.Ng2 c4 76.Nf4 c3+ 77.Kc1 Be8 78.Ne2 Bd7 79.Nf4 Bg4 80.Nd5 Kc4 81.Nf6 Bf3 82.Kc2 Kd4 83.Kc1 Ke5 84.Nd7+ Kd5 85.Nf6+ Kd4 86.Nd7 Bg4 Is a knight on the rim always dim? In the diagram position, White is a pawn down and his knight seems to be far away from the action. However, White can hold the game. How?
White to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Tiviakov,S2552Sokolov,I25890–12024C70Dutch Championship 20243.2

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.

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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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