11/8/2021 – The FIDE Grand Swiss in Riga just ended, Alireza Firouzja finished sole first with 8.0/11, half a point ahead of Fabiano Caruana. Both qualified for the Candidates. The tournament in Riga brought many interesting games and many interesting endgames. In the Endgame Magic Show #169 Karsten Müller and Thomas Stark look at some of the endgame highlights. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

11/2/2021 – Pawn endings are often tricky and must be calculated carefully. In the diagram position it is Black to move and he can win with precise play. How should he proceed?

11/1/2021 – Pawn races are often fun because every tempo counts and such pawn races can often turn into a mating attack when the pawn queens. In the Endgame Magic Show #168 Karsten and Arne look at some recent examples of entertaining pawn races. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

10/26/2021 – Zugzwang is a powerful endgame weapon, particularly against a passive knight. In the diagram position, White's knight is passive but how can Black bring White into zugzwang and win the game?

10/25/2021 – In the Endgame Magic Show #167 Karsten Müller Arne and Karsten discuss endgame highlights from the Bundesliga, one of the world's strongest national team championships. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

10/19/2021 – Rook endings often have drawish tendencies, but pawn races usually spice things up. In the diagram position it is Black to move. Should he protect his pawn on g6 or should he attack White's pawn on b3?

10/18/2021 – In the Endgame Magic Show #166 Karsten Müller Arne and Karsten discuss endgame highlights from the finals of the Champions Chess Tour, which ended in October and was won by Magnus Carlsen. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

10/12/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game when both sides have queened. The main guideline in these positions is that the side with the safer king wins. In the diagram position Black might be able to queen his pawn but White will definitely queen first - and then will hunt Black's king. However, Black can still draw. How?

10/11/2021 – In the Endgame Magic Show #165 Karsten Müller has a guest: Romain Edouard, Grandmaster, publisher, and former second of Veselin Topalov. Romain and Karsten discuss Romain's forthcoming ChessBase projects and look at endgame highlights from Romain's games. | Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

10/5/2021 – Passed pawns can be very powerful in the endgame. In the diagram position Black is a pawn and a knight down but he has a strong passed pawn on d2 that can save the game. It is Black to move and draw. How?

10/4/2021 – From 18 to 21 September, 17 of the world's best juniors played a round robin rapid online tournament, the Hou Yifan Challenge, which is part of the Julius Baer Challengers Tour. In the "Endgame Magic Show #163" Arne Kaehler and Karsten Mueller look at endgame highlights from this tournament that was won by Vincent Keymer, who finished two points ahead of Christopher Yoo and Praggnanandhaa.| Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

9/28/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game, when both sides have queened. In this phase it is important to start checking the enemy king first. In the diagram position Black just gave a check. But where should the white king go? And how should White prepare a transition to the fourth phase of the game?

9/27/2021 – Karsten Müller's guest in this week's "Endgame Magic Show" is the French GM Christian Bauer who just produced an interesting DVD - which, of course, will also available per download - about the charms and attractions of the Alekhine Defense. Karsten and Christian talk about this DVD but they also look at some fine endgames Christian played. | Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

9/21/2021 – Even in endgames one should not forget that mate ends the game. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What did he do?

9/20/2021 – One of the most fascinating recent endgames was Magnus Carlsen's win against Alireza Firouzja in round 6 of the Norway Chess Tournament: in a slightly better position that seemed to be impossible to win Carlsen worked his magic and created an endgame masterpiece. In the "Endgame Magic Show #161" Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler take a look at this astonishing endgame and show why it is good to know the classics. | Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

9/14/2021 – Sometimes, the trio king, bishop and pawn cannot win against a lone king: if the pawn is a rook pawn, the enemy king makes it to the corner and the bishop does not control the queening sqare of the pawn. Knowing this might help you to save positions that seem to be entire lost. In the diagram position it is White to move and draw. How?

9/13/2021 – The World Cup in Sochi 2021 saw a huge number of fascinating endgames, and for his "Endgame Magic Show #160" Karsten selected mostly rook endgames. Interesting, instructive, and practically relevant. | Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

9/7/2021 – When only very few pawns are left on the board the attacker has to be careful that s/he keeps at least one pawn that can queen. In the diagram position White has three pawns left, two more than Black. But there is only one way to win. How should White proceed?

9/6/2021 – Karsten is joined by Arne Kaehler to discuss the best endgames of 2020. Our in-house specialist decided to kick off the show with a fascinating ending played by two amazingly strong engines, Stockfish and Komodo. | Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

8/31/2021 – In the diagram position it is Black to move and tablebases and endgame books know that this position is a theoretical draw. However, holding theoretical draws is often difficult in practice. But Jan-Krzyzstof Duda, who was Black against Ding Liren here, was up to the task and found the only move that saves the game. What did he play?

8/30/2021 – Herman and Karsten discuss endgames and Herman’s forthcoming ChessBase products. Herman tells many surprising stories connected to endgames. He talks, for example, about how Loek van Wely began his serious work on rook endgames. | Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

8/24/2021 – When defending difficult positions you often have to decide whether to search active counterplay or to hope for the best with passive defense. Often, this is a difficult choice and even the very best can go wrong. In the diagram position, which is from a game A. Firouzja vs M. Carlsen, Black is in trouble but has a way to draw. What should Black play?

8/23/2021 – Two years after visiting Hamburg to film his middlegame FritzTrainers, Ivan Sokolov visits the ChessBase office once again. The experienced grandmaster discusses instructive endgames with Dr. Karsten Müller in the latest instalment of the Endgame Magic show. | Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

8/17/2021 – In the diagram position White is a pawn down and Black's king is threatening to enter White's position. However, White can hope to save a draw if he manages to build a solid fortress. In the diagram position it is White to move - what would you play?