What to do, where to go?

by Karsten Müller
9/20/2022 – In the diagrammed position, which shows the end of a game Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played at the Norway Chess Tournament 2022, it is Black to move and he has to find a way to make use of his far advanced pawns before White manages to coordinate his forces. But what exactly should Black do?
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 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Ba4 b5 9.Bb3 a5 10.Nf3 0-0 11.0-0 a4 12.Bc2 c5 13.Rb1 Nc6 14.e5 Rb8 15.Be4 Bf5 16.Bxf5 gxf5 17.Qd3 Qd7 18.Rd1 Rfd8 19.Bf4 cxd4 20.cxd4 e6 21.Bg5 Rdc8 22.Qe3 Ne7 23.Bf6 h6 24.Qf4 Ng6 25.Qg3 Kh7 26.d5 exd5 27.Rb4 Rc4 28.Rxc4 bxc4 29.e6 Qxe6 30.Qxb8 Bxf6 31.Re1 Qd7 32.Qb6 Kg7 33.g3 f4 34.Qc5 fxg3 35.hxg3 Nf4 36.Qe3 Nd3 37.Rb1 Qe6 38.Rb7 Qxe3 39.fxe3 c3 40.Rc7 Nb4 41.Ne1 Be5 42.Rc8 Bxg3 43.Kf1 Bxe1 44.Kxe1 Nxa2 45.Kd1 a3 46.Rb8 h5 47.Kc2 h4 48.Rb1 Kf6 49.Kb3 Nb4 50.Kxb4 a2 51.Ra1 c2 52.Kc3 h3 53.Kxc2 What to do, where to go? In the diagrammed position it is Black to move and he has to find a way to make use of his far advanced pawns before White manages to coordinate his forces. But what exactly should Black do?
Where shall Black's king goto?
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2864Vachier-Lagrave,M27501–02022D8510th Norway Chess 20228.2

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 #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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