Karsten Müller: Topical Endgames in St Louis

by Karsten Müller
9/17/2022 – You might think that an event such as the Chess960 event in St Louis would somehow be devoid of endgame articles, but as the good doctor explained, "for endgames Chess 960 does not make a difference". Of course world class players will lead to world class endgame tussles such as Svidler's masterclass. Enjoy this latest entry and commentary.

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

Using the active notation

You might be inclined to believe the game notations below are just to be looked at and the moves played through in your mind. But as most of you know you can click on the moves to get a separate replay board, which you can resize and move to the best place on your screen. The popup board has full controls, and you can use the navigation buttons to advance the moves, as well as use an engine or save the game or position to your computer. In the engine window you can ask for multiple lines, or what the threat is, or see the positional evaluation of the position. 

Pushy passed pawns

Knowing when to push one's passed pawns in an endgame is a conundrum that can challenge even the best in the world. The Iranian prodigy misses his chance by failing to seize his opportunity.

 

Russian Masterclass

The eight-time Russian champion seizes his chance when Caruana rushes his king, and does not spot his chance to build an eternal blockade. 

 

All rook endings are a draw

At least that is what conventional wisdom says, but an alert eye may spot the exception and be able to convert this into a full point.

 

Links


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.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register