Wonderful stalemates

by Karsten Müller
11/29/2022 – It is a well-known but still slightly surprising fact that king, bishop and outside pawn cannot win against a bare king if the defending king is in front of the pawn and the bishop does not control the queening square of the pawn - a constellation Hans Kmoch called the "impotent pair". In the diagram position Black is close to such a draw but has to be precise to reach it. What should he 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.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.b3 0-0 6.Bb2 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.d4 Nc6 9.Rc1 Ne4 10.dxc5 Bf6 11.a3 Nxc5 12.b4 Ne4 13.Be2 Bg4 14.0-0 Rc8 15.Ba1 Nxb4 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Rxc8 Bxc8 18.Qxd8 Rxd8 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.axb4 exf3 21.Bxf3 Rd6 22.Rc1 Be6 23.Ra1 Rb6 24.Rxa7 Rxb4 25.Rxb7 Rxb7 26.Bxb7 h6 27.Kf1 Kg7 28.Ke2 Bc4+ 29.Kd2 Kf8 30.Kc3 Be6 31.Kd4 Ke7 32.Bd5 Bf5 33.e4 Bd7 34.Ke3 Kf8 35.Kf4 Kg7 36.Bc4 Bc6 37.Be2 Bd7 38.Bg4 Bc6 39.Bh5 Bd7 40.Ke3 Kf8 41.Kd4 Bc6 42.Bg4 Ke7 43.Bf5 Kd6 44.f3 Bb5 45.Bc8 Bf1 46.g3 Be2 47.Ke3 Bd1 48.Kf4 Ke7 49.Bb7 Kf8 50.Bd5 Kg7 51.Ke3 Kf8 52.Bc4 Ke7 53.Be2 Ba4 54.Kd4 Kd6 55.Bc4 Ke7 56.Ke3 Kf8 57.Be2 Bb3 58.Kf4 Be6 59.Bb5 Bb3 60.Kg4 Bd1 61.Bd7 Kg7 62.Kf4 Kf8 63.Bg4 Ke7 64.Ke3 Kd6 65.Bh5 Ke7 66.Kf2 Bc2 67.Bg4 Bb3 68.Kg2 Bd1 69.Kh3 Kf8 70.Kh4 Kg7 71.f4 Bc2 72.Bf5 Bd3 73.g4 Be2 74.Bd7 Bf3 75.Bc6 Bd1 76.Bd5 Be2 77.e5 fxe5 78.fxe5 Bd3 79.g5 Kg6 80.gxh6 Wonderful stalemates It is a well-known but still slightly surprising fact that king, bishop and outside pawn cannot win against a bare king if the defending king is in front of the pawn and the bishop does not control the queening square of the pawn - a constellation pawn structure theoretician Hans Kmoch called the "impotent pair". In the diagram position Black is close to such a draw but has to be precise to reach it. What should he do?
Black to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vidit,S2710Duda,J2731½–½2022A13Aimchess Rapid KO1

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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