The power of passed pawns

by Karsten Müller
1/23/2024 – Passed pawns often lead to tactics that require precise calculation. In the diagram position it is White to move and draw. How can White use the power of his passed pawns?
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 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Bd3 c4 9.Be2 Qa5 10.Bd2 Nf5 11.h4 Qa4 12.Kd1 Nc6 13.h5 h6 14.Qh3 Bd7 15.Bg4 0-0-0 16.Ne2 Rhg8 17.Bf4 Nfe7 18.Qe3 Rdf8 19.Bg3 b6 20.Bh4 Kb7 21.Kd2 Re8 22.Bh3 Rh8 23.g4 Rh7 24.f4 g6 25.Ng3 Ng8 26.Bg2 Nce7 27.Rh2 a5 28.Qe1 Rf8 29.Bf6 Qc6 30.Qe3 Ka6 31.Ke2 Qa4 32.Kd2 Qc6 33.Bf3 Re8 34.Re2 Qa4 35.Ke1 Qb5 36.Qc1 Qa4 37.Kf2 Ka7 38.Kg2 Ka6 39.Rb1 Qc6 40.Qb2 Qc7 41.Qc1 Qc6 42.Re1 Qc7 43.Rh1 Ka7 44.Rh2 Qc6 45.Kf2 Ka6 46.Qb2 Qc7 47.g5 hxg5 48.fxg5 gxh5 49.Rbh1 Nxf6 50.gxf6 Nc6 51.Rxh5 Rxh5 52.Rxh5 Rb8 53.Ne2 b5 54.Qa1 Qb6 55.Ke1 Be8 56.Kd2 Kb7 57.Rh7 b4 58.axb4 axb4 59.Bh5 Ra8 60.Qb1 bxc3+ 61.Nxc3 Qxb1 62.Nxb1 Nxd4 63.Bxf7 Nf3+ 64.Ke3 Ng5 65.Bxe6+ Nxh7 66.Bxd5+ Bc6 67.Bxc4 Nf8 The power of passed pawns Passed pawns often lead to tactics that require precise calculation. In the diagram position it is White to move and draw. How can White use the power of his passed pawns?
White to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Shankland,S2698Mishra,A25990–12023C18USA Championship 20239.1

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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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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