Passed pawns can be powerful

by Karsten Müller
7/8/2025 – In the diagram position White is a rook down, but he still has a way to draw the game. What should he do?
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.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 d6 7.a4 Bd7 8.Nc3 Na5 9.Ba2 Be7 10.b4 Nc6 11.Nd5 Nd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Bb2 Nxd5 14.Bxd5 c6 15.Bb3 Bf6 16.Ra2 0-0 17.0-0 Be6 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Qg4 Qc8 20.axb5 cxb5 21.Bc1 e5 22.h3 Qxg4 23.hxg4 h6 24.g3 Rfc8 25.f4 Rc6 26.Rf2 Bd8 27.Kg2 Rac8 28.Kf3 Kf7 29.g5 hxg5 30.f5 Be7 31.Kg4 Rh8 32.Bxg5 Bf6 33.Ra1 Rh7 34.Rc1 Rh8 35.Bd2 Rhc8 36.Be1 Be7 37.Rh2 Bf6 38.Rg2 Be7 39.Re2 Bf6 40.Kf3 Bg5 41.Bd2 Be7 42.Be1 Bg5 43.Bd2 Be7 44.Ra1 Rxc2 45.Rxa6 Rb2 46.Ra7 Rcc2 47.Bg5 Rxe2 48.Bxe7 Ra2 49.Rb7 d5 50.exd5 e4+ 51.dxe4 Rf2+ 52.Kg4 d3 53.Bg5+ Kg8 54.d6 d2 55.Bxd2 Raxd2
White to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Rapport,R2722Tan,Z25360–12025C77TePe Sigeman 20253.2

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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Topics: ChessBase Magazine, Endgame, Karsten Mueller
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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A strong duo

6/17/2025 – Queen and bishop can be powerful - which White proved in the diagram position. What did he do?
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The Luftloch

6/10/2025 – In the diagram position it is Black to move. She has a strong passed pawn on the e-file, but her back rank is weak. Is there a way to secure an advantage for Black?
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Video

60m The Two Knights

This entry into the 60 minutes series concentrates on the Modern variation of the Italian game where White opens the centre early : 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5!. This line can be reached by various move orders, most frequently from the Scotch 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4. It's a sharp variation and Grandmasters such as Evgeny Sveshnikov have used it frequently,with very good results. It's a perfect line for club players to adopt which is relatively easy to learn and which contains many traps. All the main responses are covered here, including 5...d5, 5...Ng4 and 5...Ne4 and the conclusion is that is is difficult for Black to equalize in a straightforward way. Problems are being posed, which over the board might prove tough to solve.

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