Stalemate

by Karsten Müller
8/8/2023 – Stalemates can often save the defender in endgames. However, they are difficult to spot. In the diagram position, it is Black to move and draw. What would you 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.g3 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg2 d6 6.c3 a5 7.0-0 0-0 8.a4 Re8 9.Na3 h6 10.Re1 Bd7 11.Nc2 Qb8 12.h3 Qa7 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Nxe3 Ne7 15.Nh4 Rad8 16.Kh2 Ng6 17.Nhf5 Be6 18.Qf3 Kh7 19.h4 c6 20.Bh3 d5 21.exd5 cxd5 22.h5 Ne7 23.Ng4 Nxg4+ 24.Bxg4 Nc6 25.d4 e4 26.Qf4 Qb8 27.Qxb8 Rxb8 28.Bh3 Ne7 29.Ne3 b5 30.axb5 Rxb5 31.Ra2 Reb8 32.Re2 Bxh3 33.Kxh3 f5 34.f3 g6 35.fxe4 fxe4 36.c4 dxc4 37.hxg6+ Nxg6 38.Nxc4 Rb4 39.Nxa5 Ra8 40.Rxe4 Rb5 41.b4 Rxb4 42.Ra3 h5 43.Rb3 Rab8 44.Rc3 Rb1 45.Rc7+ Kh6 46.Nc4 Rf8 47.Kg2 Rc1 48.Re2 h4 49.Re6 Rff1 50.gxh4 Rg1+ 51.Kf3 Rcf1+ 52.Ke4 Rg4+ 53.Kd5 Rd1 54.Re4 Rxh4 55.Ne3 Rxe4 56.Kxe4 Rd2 57.d5 Kg5 58.Rf7 Nh8 59.Rf8 Ng6 60.Rf5+ Kh6 61.Nc4 Rd1 62.Rf7 Nh8 63.Rf2 Ng6 64.Ne3 Ra1 65.Nf5+ Kg5 66.d6 Ra8 67.Nd4 Re8+ 68.Kd5 Nf4+ 69.Kc6 Re4 70.Rd2 Kf6 71.d7 Ke7 72.Nf5+ Kd8 73.Nd6 Re6 74.Ra2 Ke7 75.Rd2 Rg6 76.Rd1 Stalemate Stalemates can often save the defender in endgames. However, they are difficult to spot. In the diagram position, it is Black to move and draw. What would you do?
Black to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Piorun,K2601Wojtaszek,R26691–02023C44PGNiG TERMIKA Polish Championship15.1

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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