The Luftloch

by Karsten Müller
6/10/2025 – In the diagram position it is Black to move. She has a strong passed pawn on the e-file, but her back rank is weak. Is there a way to secure an advantage for Black?
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 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be2 Qc7 7.Be3 a6 8.0-0 Be7 9.f4 d6 10.Kh1 0-0 11.a4 Bd7 12.Nb3 b6 13.Bf3 Rad8 14.g4 Bc8 15.g5 Nd7 16.Bg2 f6 17.h4 Nc5 18.Qe2 Nb4 19.Rad1 Kh8 20.Rd2 Bd7 21.Qc4 a5 22.Rfd1 Qc8 23.Nxc5 bxc5 24.Kh2 Bc6 25.Qe2 f5 26.Nb5 Bxe4 27.Bxe4 fxe4 28.Nxd6 Bxd6 29.Rxd6 Rxd6 30.Rxd6 Nd5 31.Qd2 c4 32.c3 Qb8 33.Rxe6 Nxe3 34.Qxe3 Rxf4 35.Qg3 The Luftloch In the diagram position it is Black to move. She has a strong passed pawn on the e-file, but her back rank is weak. Is there a way to secure an advantage for Black?
Black to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Narva,M2380Kirtadze,A2180½–½2025B85European Womens-ch 20254.1

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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<< Vishy Anand and Faustino Oro meet in Pietrasanta, Italy
Entertaining, playful, timeless - The "New in Chess Magazine" #3/2025 >>
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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Hiding away

6/3/2025 – In the diagram position White has dangerous passed pawns but has to find a way to overcome Black's resistance. What should she do?
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A strong knight

5/27/2025 – When knights are strong, they can be very strong. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What should he do?
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Video

60m English A solid scandinavian surprise

On this 60 mins video we are going to concentrate on a simple, very solid idea in the main line Scandinavian, which even Magnus Carlsen has used to win games. Black focusses on making his life easy in the opening and forces White to work very hard to get advantage – but it is doubtful if White can get an advantage. Club players are always on the lookout for effective, time-saving solutions and here we have just that. Accompany FIDE Senior Trainer and IM Andrew Martin on this 60 mins video. You can learn a new opening system in 60 mins and start to play it with confidence on the very same day!

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