Rook vs bishop

by Karsten Müller
3/28/2023 – In the diagram position, it is White to move and draw. White is an exchange up but he still is in trouble because his pawns are weak and his rook has trouble defending them. In the game White did not find a way to draw the game and lost. Can you do better?
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.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qb3 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Nbd2 Nbd7 11.Nc4 Qa6 12.Bg5 Rfd8 13.Rfd1 Be4 14.Nfe5 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 h6 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Ng4 Be7 18.a4 Nf6 19.Nge5 Rd5 20.Ne3 Rdd8 21.N3c4 Rd5 22.Qf3 Rad8 23.e3 c5 24.Rdc1 cxd4 25.e4 Rxe5 26.Nxe5 d3 27.Rc3 d2 28.Rd3 Rc8 29.Rd1 Qxa4 30.R3xd2 Qxe4 31.Qxe4 Nxe4 32.Rd7 Bf6 33.Nd3 Rc2 34.Re1 Nc5 35.Nxc5 Rxc5 36.Rxb7 Rc2 37.Rd1 Rxb2 38.Rxa7 Rb8 39.Rdd7 Rf8 40.Kf3 h5 41.Ke4 g6 42.Kd3 Be5 43.Ra5 Bf6 44.Kc4 Rc8+ 45.Kb5 Bc3 46.Raa7 Rf8 47.Rd3 Be5 48.Kc6 Rb8 49.Rf3 Rf8 50.Ra4 Rd8 51.Ra7 Rf8 52.h3 Bd4 53.Re7 Kg7 54.Kd7 Bc5 55.Re8 Rxe8 56.Kxe8 f5 57.Kd7 Kf6 58.Kc6 Ba7 59.h4 e5 60.Kd5 e4 Fortresses and broken homes Usually a rook is much stronger than a bishop in a pure endgame. But in this case the only question is, if the bishop can win or not due to White's weak pawns:
White to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Markus,R2613Blohberger,F24880–12023D23German Bundesliga 2022-235.11

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 #206

Order now at the ChessBase Shop ! Available as a download or on DVD.

ChessBase Magazine Extra #205

 Order now at the ChessBase Shop ! Available as download or on DVD.

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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