The power of passed pawns

by Karsten Müller
10/5/2021 – Passed pawns can be very powerful in the endgame. In the diagram position Black is a pawn and a knight down but he has a strong passed pawn on d2 that can save the game. It is Black to move and 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.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.g3 Bb7 12.Bg2 Qb6 13.exf6 0-0-0 14.Qg4 b4 15.Ne4 Qxd4 16.Qe2 Ne5 17.0-0 Qd3 18.Rfe1 c5 19.a3 Qxe2 20.Rxe2 a5 21.axb4 axb4 22.Nd2 c3 23.bxc3 bxc3 24.Bxb7+ Kxb7 25.Ne4 Nf3+ 26.Kg2 Rd3 27.Be3 Nd4 28.Bxd4 cxd4 29.Ng5 Rh6 30.Nxf7 Rxf6 31.Ne5 Rd2 32.Rxd2 cxd2 33.Rd1 Bb4 34.Nf3 e5 35.Nxe5 Ka6 36.f4 Kb5 37.Kf3 Ra6 38.Ke4 Ra3 39.Nd3 Kc4 40.Nxb4 Re3+ 41.Kf5 The power of passed pawns Passed pawns can be very powerful in the endgame. In the diagram position Black is a pawn and a knight down but he has a strong passed pawn on d2 that can save the game. It is Black to move and draw. How?
Black to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vitiugov,N2724Shirov,A26621–02021D44FIDE World Cup 20213.15

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 #202

 

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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