The blockade

by Karsten Müller
7/23/2024 – Against bishops it is often a good strategy to build a blockade. In the diagram position it is Black to move - how could he have built a blockade and saved the game?
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 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qa4 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bf4 Nc6 11.Nbd2 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Bxg2 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.Kxg2 Nd5 15.Be5 c5 16.Nf3 Qe8 17.Rad1 Qh5 18.Qe4 Rad8 19.a4 Qf5 20.Qxf5 exf5 21.axb5 axb5 22.Ra1 Ra8 23.Rfd1 Nf6 24.b3 Ne4 25.Rd7 Bf6 26.Bxf6 Nxf6 27.Rxa8 Rxa8 28.Rc7 Ne4 29.Ne5 Re8 30.Nd3 Nd2 31.Rxc5 Nxb3 32.Rxf5 Nd4 33.Rd5 Nxe2 34.Rxb5 Nc3 35.Rb7 Nd5 36.Rd7 Nf6 37.Ra7 Kf8 38.Kf3 Re7 39.Rxe7 Kxe7 40.Nc5 Kf7 41.Kf4 Nd5+ 42.Ke5 Ne7 43.h4 Nc6+ 44.Ke4 h6 45.g4 Ne7 46.Nd3 Kf6 47.Nf4 g5 48.hxg5+ Kxg5 49.f3 Nc6 50.Ne6+ Kf6 51.Nd4 Ne5 52.Kf4 Nd3+ 53.Ke3 Ne5 54.Kf4 Nd3+ 55.Kg3 Ne1 56.f4 Nd3 57.Nf3 Nb4 58.Nd2 Nd5 59.Ne4+ Ke6 60.Kf3 Ne7 61.Ng3 Kd5 62.Ke3 Ke6 63.Kd4 Kf6 64.Ke4 Ke6 65.Ne2 Ng8 66.Nd4+ Kf6 67.Nf5 Ke6 Botvinnik's rule Knight endings are like pawn endings. Zugzwang, king actvity and outside passed pawns are crucial. Of course, in pawn endings you do not have to think about forks and the consequences of exchanging your knight. Without the knights the position shown in the diagram would be a simple win for White. With the knights, the position is still won, but the win is more complicated. What should White do?
White to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa R2747Caruana,F28051–02024E05Norway Chess 20245.3

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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