Tactics!

by Karsten Müller
7/29/2025 – Tactics are important in all phases of the game, and it pays to remain tactically alert even in endgames, when only a few pieces and pawns remain. In the diagrammed position, it is White to move and win. What should White 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 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 a6 8.Bb3 Na5 9.f4 Qc7 10.g4 d5 11.exd5 Bb4 12.dxe6 Nxb3 13.cxb3 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Qxc3+ 15.Kf2 Bxe6 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Rc1 Qb2+ 18.Kf3 Rd8 19.Qc2 Qxc2 20.Rxc2 Nd5 21.Re1 0-0 22.h4 Rc8 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Bd4 Kf7 25.Re5 Ne7 26.Rc5 Rxc5 27.Bxc5 Nc6 28.Ke4 g6 29.Bb6 h5 30.gxh5 gxh5 31.f5 Ne7 32.fxe6+ Kxe6 33.Bf2 Nd5 34.Be1 b6 35.Bd2 b5 36.Ba5 Ne7 37.Kf4 Nc6 38.Bc3 a5 39.Kg5 a4 40.b4 Ne7 41.Kxh5 Nd5 42.Bd2 Kf5 43.a3 Nb6 44.Kh6 Nc4 45.Bc3 Nxa3 46.h5 Nb1 47.Ba1 Nd2 48.Kg7 Ne4 49.h6 Ng5 50.Bb2 Ne6+ 51.Kg8 Ng5 52.Bc1 a3 Tactics! Tactics are important in all phases of the game, and it pays to remain alert even in endgames, when only a few pieces and pawns remain. In the diagrammed position, it is White to move and win. What should White do?
White to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Abdusattorov,N2767Rapport,R27141–02025B88Round 3: Abdusattorov, Nodirbek - Rappor3.4

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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<< Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: An opening surprise in an important game
Iniyan beats Malek in tiebreaks to win Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence >>
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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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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