The sting of the scorpion

by Karsten Müller
12/20/2022 – In the endgame a rook is usually much stronger than a minor piece. But when only a few pawns are left on the board the attacker must be careful. In the diagram position it is Black to move. What did he do to win 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.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Bc4 Bc5 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.Nf3 d5 8.Nxd5 Qxe4+ 9.Ne3 Bg4 10.Be2 Nxe2 11.Qxe2 0-0-0 12.d3 Qe7 13.Bd2 Rhe8 14.0-0-0 Nd5 15.Rhe1 Qd7 16.Qf1 Bh5 17.Kb1 f6 18.h3 b6 19.g4 Bf7 20.Nf5 Nb4 21.Bxb4 Bxb4 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.a3 Bf8 24.Nd2 h5 25.Re1 Rd8 26.Ne4 Kb8 27.Nc3 Be6 28.Nd4 Bf7 29.Re4 Bg6 30.Rf4 hxg4 31.Qg2 Be8 32.hxg4 Bd6 33.Re4 Be5 34.Nce2 g5 35.Nf3 Bd6 36.Ned4 Bf7 37.Nf5 Bc5 38.Ne3 Bg6 39.Rc4 Bf7 40.Rxc5 bxc5 41.Nd2 Bd5 42.Qh3 Be6 43.Qf3 Qd4 44.b3 Bc8 45.Ndc4 Bb7 46.Qh3 Qf4 47.Na5 Qf3 48.Qh7 Qh1+ 49.Qxh1 Bxh1 50.Kc1 Bf3 51.Nac4 Rd4 52.Nd2 Rf4 53.b4 cxb4 54.axb4 Bxg4 55.Ne4 f5 56.Nxg5 Rxf2 57.Nd5 f4 58.Ne4 Rf1+ 59.Kd2 c6 60.Ndf6 Rg1 61.c4 Rg2+ 62.Kc3 Bf5 63.Kd4 Re2 64.Ng5 Kc7 65.Nh5 Rg2 66.Nf3 Bg4 67.Nxf4
Black to move and win
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2768So,W27740–12022C48Chesscom Global-ch Finals 20222.7

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 #206

Order now at the ChessBase Shop ! Available as a download or on DVD.

ChessBase Magazine Extra #205

 Order now at the ChessBase Shop ! Available as download or on DVD.

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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