6/20/2017 – If you are in trouble it often helps to look for hidden tactical possibilities. E.g. for a perpetual. Particularly so in the endgame.

6/13/2017 – The pawnless endgame rook and knight vs rook is usually a draw. Things change, however, when pawns are on the board. But an extra-pawn is not necessarily good for the defending side.

6/7/2017 – To put "rooks behind passed pawns" is not always good advice but very often and therefore it's a good endgame guideline. Particularly so, when things get complicated.

5/30/2017 – It is well known that pawns are the soul of chess. And sometimes they are surprisingly strong. Particularly so when the king supports them.

5/23/2017 – Sometimes you need patience - and zugzwang - to win a won endgame: The following interesting duel which Remy Heimers sent to me with annotations is an instructive example:

5/16/2017 – Endings with opposite colored bishops often end in a draw even though one side is one or two pawns up. However, these endings often contain hidden tactical surprises. And don't miss: Today on the playchess server, 4 pm, Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller.

5/9/2017 – Most chessplayers have at least a basic knowledge of opening theory. But how about the endgame? Knowing a little bit of endgame theory can help a lot. Karsten Müller has an example.

5/3/2017 – When faced with a very bad or lost endgame, it is sometimes hard to muster the strength, much less the resources, to truly revert the situation. Yet that is what Hikaru Nakamura did, and against no less an expert than Vladimir Kramnik himself. Somehow the American found ways to keep it alive and justify playing on. Some of the resources he found smacked of black magic even. Here is a look at this epic endgame with detailed analysis by endgame expert GM Karsten Mueller.

5/2/2017 – Passed pawns can be tricky. Especially in the endgame and if they are supported by the enemy king. However, bishops can also be powerful. Karsten Müller shows why.

4/27/2017 – How to improve your chess? By studying the endgame! And how to study the endgame? Go to Karsten Müller. The German grandmaster is considered to be the world's leading endgame expert and he has published numerous books and DVDs about the endgame. In his "Endgame Magic Show", which runs on the ChessBase server, he regularly shows instructive and interesting endgames. The shows are archived. A treasure.

4/25/2017 – In an endgame pawn race every tempo counts. But rushing blindly forward is rarely a good strategy. Karsten Müller shows why.

4/18/2017 – "I don't believe in fortresses", said Magnus Carlsen during his World Championship match against Sergey Karjakin in New York 2016. This skepticism has a reason: a lot of fortresses look stronger than they are.

4/11/2017 – Bishop and "wrong" outside pawn cannot win if the defending king manages to occupy the square on which the pawn wants to queen. Therefore the bishop has to prevent the enemy king from reaching this corner: Black to move. Today on the playchess server, 3:30 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Andrew Martin.

4/4/2017 – "Chess is like boxing. You have to know when to duck and when to punch", is an often quoted statement by Bobby Fischer. Today's endgame shows how right Fischer was. Have a look and find out if you know when to duck and when to punch! Black to move. Today on the playchess server, 4 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Nihal Sarin.

3/28/2017 – "All rook endings are drawn" is a popular saying. But it is only partly true. While rook endings indeed often have drawish tendencies you still have to find the right moves. Which even in seemingly simple rook endings is difficult enough. Today on the playchess server, 4 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Adrian Mikhalchishin.

3/21/2017 – Being a pawn down in the endgame is rarely a pleasure. However, you can sometimes save the game by eliminating all enemy pawns. Or at least the most dangerous. Karsten Müller shows how to do this.

3/14/2017 – Most chessplayers know that the endgame king, rook and bishop vs king and rook is a theoretical draw but difficult to defend. However, they often think that the endgame king, rook and knight vs king and rook is an easy draw. An error that might have fatal consequences.

3/11/2017 – Zugzwang is a strong endgame weapon. Knowing how and when to use it can make the difference between winning and losing.

3/2/2017 – Last year Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta showed us a study where a knight defeats an entire kingdom. Knights can be very powerful in the correct situation, but they are just as amazing when it comes to domination of pieces, building fortresses, forking king and queen, even helping in and delivering the smothered mate. Siegfried Hornecker demonstrates this and some remarkable ideas in chess studies.

2/28/2017 – Even seemingly simple endgames can be surprisingly tactical. A good reason to be careful till the end of the game.

2/21/2017 – To be a piece up is nice. Usually. However, in the endgame you have to take care to keep enough pawns on the board that can queen and mate your opponent. In his endgame blog Karsten Müller shows how this is done.

2/14/2017 – Knight or bishop - who is better? Blitz specialists tend to prefer the knight but bishops can make knights look very lame. In today's endgame blog Karsten Müller presents one example of good bishop vs bad knight. Later today - at 4 pm CET to be precise - Karsten Müller shares more endgame secrets in his Endgame Magic Show. His guest today is Swiss Grandmaster Yannick Pelletier.

2/7/2017 – Every week ChessBase magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Today on the playchess server, 4 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Vishnu Prasanna Endgame Blog

2/4/2017 – In our previous monthly study column we saw how powerful pawns are. The subject is amplified this time with three positions, two from games and one a study by two prolific chess composers from Georgia. In that study White would like to move his pawn backwards, which of course the rules of chess do not allow. So he has to promote it, very carefully, and then move the queen or rook to the square the pawn could not occupy. A remarkable idea and an amazing study.