Small army, strong attack

by Karsten Müller
3/18/2025 – Sometimes, even a few pieces are enough to create a powerful mating attack. In the diagram position White is a piece up, but has to find a way to parry Black's attack. Any ideas?

Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen

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.e41,162,86954%2421---
1.d4944,72655%2434---
1.Nf3280,65156%2441---
1.c4181,58656%2442---
1.g319,66356%2427---
1.b314,17554%2427---
1.f45,87148%2376---
1.Nc33,76751%2384---
1.b41,73748%2378---
1.a31,19354%2403---
1.e31,06448%2408---
1.d394550%2378---
1.g465846%2359---
1.h444453%2373---
1.c342251%2422---
1.h327856%2416---
1.a410860%2468---
1.Nh38866%2510---
1.f38745%2429---
1.Na34063%2477---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.a3 Bd6 8.Qc2 b6 9.b4 Ba6 10.Nf3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Re8 12.Bb2 a6 13.0-0 Nbd7 14.b5 axb5 15.Nxb5 Bf8 16.Nc3 c6 17.a4 Ne4 18.Rfc1 Ndf6 19.Ne5 c5 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 21.dxc5 bxc5 22.f3 c4 23.Qc2 Nc5 24.Rd1 Nb3 25.Rab1 Qb6 26.Rxd5 Qxe3+ 27.Kh1 Rxa4 28.h3 Qf4 29.Re1 f6 30.Re4 Qf5 31.Ng4 Qxd5 32.Rxe8 Qd3 33.Qxd3 cxd3 34.Ne3 Ra2 35.Nd1 Kf7 36.Rd8 Nc5 37.Kh2 Be7 38.Rd4 Ke6 39.Rb4 Bd6+ 40.Kg1 Na4 41.Rb3 Bg3 42.Kf1 h5 43.Bd4 Rd2 44.Rb1 Kd5 45.Be3 Re2 46.Bf2 h4 47.Bxg3 hxg3 48.Rb4 Rd2 49.Ne3+ Kc5 50.Rxa4 Rf2+ Small army, strong attack Sometimes, even a few pieces are enough to create a powerful mating attack. In the diagram position White is a piece up, but has to find a way to parry Black's attack. Any ideas?
White to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Babula,V2496Papp,G25111–02025E48German Bundesliga 2024-257.5

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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<< Oscar Panno turns 90!
Svitlana's Smart Moves - The King's Indian Attack course is out! >>
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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See also

The better king

3/11/2025 – The activity of the king is often a crucial factor in endgames. In the diagram position it was Black to move and he used his better king to win the game. How?
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See also

Counterplay counts

3/4/2025 – Material is reduced in endgames, but attacks on the king still happen endgames. In the diagram position it is Black to move and draw. How?
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 4

Video

60m English New ideas in the Najdorf_E

‘New ideas in the Najdorf – a Power Play 18 Update’ aims to complement Daniel King’s popular DVD from last year ‘The Sicilian Najdorf - a repertoire for Black’. Such a dynamic and popular opening as the Najdorf is developing the whole time. On this download, Daniel King updates lines that were included on his DVD but also responds to viewers’ requests, considering lines that he omitted from his original repertoire. The lines examined on this update are: • 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 h3 e5 7 Nde2 • 5….a6 6 Bc4 in combination with the English Attack (Be3, f3 etc) • 5…a6 6 Be3 and the …a5 variation • 5…a6 6 Be2 and 9 Re1 • 5 f3 (instead of 5 Nc3) It isn’t necessary to have seen the original Najdorf DVD to understand the lines examined here – but it would help as they form part of a complete repertoire.

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