Zugzwang

by Karsten Müller
11/16/2021 – The diagram shows a position from a game between Teimour Radjabov and Hikaru Nakamura, played at the Meltwater Chess Champions Final 2021. It is White to move and he has to find the right square for his king to avoid getting into zugzwang. In the game, with limited time on the clock, Radjabov failed to find the right move. Can you do better?
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 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.e3 0-0 8.Rc1 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd7 10.Ne4 c5 11.Nxf6+ Qxf6 12.0-0 Rd8 13.Bb5 cxd4 14.Qxd4 Qxd4 15.Nxd4 e5 16.Nb3 Nf6 17.Rfd1 Be6 18.Kf1 Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Rc8 20.Rc1 Rxc1+ 21.Nxc1 Kf8 22.a3 Ke7 23.Ne2 Ne4 24.Bd3 Nc5 25.Bc2 Bc4 26.Ke1 Bxe2 27.Kxe2 b6 28.b4 Nb7 29.Kd3 Nd6 30.Kc3 f5 31.f4 Kf6 32.g3 g5 33.Bd3 Ke6 34.Bc4+ Kf6 35.Bd3 h5 36.h4 g4 37.Kb3 b5 38.Kc3 Ke6 39.Bb1 Kf6 40.Bd3 a6 41.Kb3 Ke6 42.a4 Kd5 43.axb5 axb5 44.Kc2 Nc4 45.Bxc4+ Kxc4 46.fxe5 Kd5 47.e6 Kxe6 Zugzwang The diagram shows a position from a game between Teimour Radjabov and Hikaru Nakamura, played at the Meltwater Chess Champions Final. It is White to move and he has to find the right square for his king to avoid getting into zugzwang. In the game, with limited time on the clock, Radjabov failed to find the right move. Can you do better?
White to move and draw
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Radjabov,T2763Nakamura,H27360–12021D55Meltwater CCTF 20212.5

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 #203

 

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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