The king is a strong piece

by Karsten Müller
6/29/2021 – It was Steinitz who claimed that the king is strong, even in the opening and the middlegame. However, the more enemy pieces on the board, the greater the danger for His Majesty. But in the endgame the king can often show its power. In the diagram position Black is a pawn down but is still able to draw. How?
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.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 cxd4 6.exd4 Bb4 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 0-0 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.Bg5 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Qc7 12.Qe2 b6 13.Rac1 Bb7 14.Bd3 Ng4 15.Be4 Bxe4 16.Qxe4 Ngf6 17.Qe2 Qb7 18.c4 Qe4 19.Qxe4 Nxe4 20.Be3 Rac8 21.a4 Rc6 22.Rc2 Rfc8 23.Rfc1 Nd6 24.Nd2 Nf6 25.Kf1 Nd5 26.Ke2 a5 27.c5 Nf5 28.Nb3 Kf8 29.Rc4 Nd6 30.R4c2 Nf5 31.Kd2 Nb4 32.Rb2 Nd5 33.cxb6 Rxc1 34.Nxc1 Nd6 35.Ke2 Rb8 36.b7 Rxb7 37.Rxb7 Nxb7 38.Bd2 Nb6 39.Nb3 Nxa4 40.Nxa5 Nd8 41.Bb4+ Ke8 42.Kd3 Nb6 43.Nc4 Nd5 44.Bd2 f6 45.g3 Nc6 46.Nd6+ Kd7 47.Ne4 Ke7 48.Kc4 Kf7 49.h3 Nce7 50.Nd6+ Kg6 51.Kd3 h5 52.Ne4 Nf5 53.Nc5 Kf7 54.Ne4 g5 55.Nc5 h4 56.g4 Nfe7 57.Ke4 Ng6 58.Nd3 Nde7 59.f4 gxf4 60.Nxf4 f5+ 61.gxf5 Nxf5 62.Nxg6 Kxg6 63.Ke5 Ng7 64.Be1 Kg5 65.Bf2 Nf5 66.Kxe6 The king is a strong piece It was Steinitz who claimed that the king is strong, even in the opening and the middlegame. However, the more enemy pieces on the board, the greater the danger for His Majesty. But in the endgame the king can often show its power. In the diagram position Black is a pawn down but is still able to draw. How?
Black to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mendonca,L2549Gukesh D2578½–½2021E54Polgar Challenge 20214.2

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 #201

 

ChessBase Magazine Extra #201

 

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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