10/27/2017 – A solid tactical understanding is sure to help any chess player in critical situations. Whether it is a simple exchange or a mating attack, tactics are ubiquitous. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop your tactical understanding in this series with GM Karsten Müller and Pascal Simon! Friday at 3.30 pm CEST it's all about the knight sacrifice on f2/f7!

10/24/2017 – Rooks are strong but passed pawns are also strong, particularly in the endgame. But who is stronger — the rook or the passed pawns? It depends!

10/23/2017 – Lawrence Trent is an International Master from England and also a popular chess commentator and an author for ChessBase. He recorded DVD's about the Grand Prix, Two Knights System and the Morra Gambit. But tonight he joins endgame expert Karsten Müller to take a look at some endgames - from his own practice and recent tournaments. Live at 15:30 CEST (7:30 AM EST)!

10/19/2017 – That's the tagline of the quarterly print magazine, which soon celebrates its one year anniversary. The 150+ page colourful glossy "Issue No. 4" recently arrived at the ChessBase office, and includes a dose of "endgame strategy" from Karsten Mueller, a review of Simon Williams' DVD on The London System and an intriguing article on Tablebases by Jon Edwards, among extensive coverage of tournaments, player interviews, and educational features.

10/19/2017 – Julian Grötzbach is a chess player from Hamburg. Many years ago he was an intern at ChessBase but today he joins endgame expert Karsten Müller to take a look at some endgames - from his own practice and recent tournaments. Live at 14:30 CEST (6:30 AM EST)!

10/17/2017 – "Knight endings are like pawn endings." That is easily said and often true. However, there is one important difference one should not forget: the knight can sacrifice itself! An endgame lesson from Karsten Müller.

10/12/2017 – Thursday at 5pm UK time Daniel King will go on air on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free. Daniel King will have a special guest for this show: GM Karsten Müller. For this episode some endgames will be discussed as well as some puzzles. Puzzle and the live video...

10/9/2017 – If they come in pairs bishops can be very strong. But sometimes even a single bishop is strong enough to control the whole board. This edition of Karsten Müller's endgame column looks at what happens when the bishops face off against a rook.

10/3/2017 – Rooks should go behind passed pawns! In rook endings this is a popular and helpful rule of thumb. After all, in most cases this is indeed where the rook should go. But unfortunately - or fortunately - there are exceptions.

9/26/2017 – Knights surprise again and again. One single knight can frighten king, queen and rooks of your opponent (or yourself) or block strong and dangerous passed pawns. But sometimes knights are helpless against a single pawn that wants to queen. No wonder that knight endings are full of tactical tricks.

9/19/2017 – ... where angels fear to tread. This little pearl of practical wisdom is a reminder that it is hardly ever good to rush things. Particularly so when you are in a hurry. For instance, in a race of passed pawns.

9/12/2017 – If they are in harmony, rook and knight can be quite powerful and have saved or won a lot of games. But they have to be in harmony.

9/5/2017 – Irene Sukandar is not only an International Master, but she also has a Masters in International Relations. She recently returned home to her native Jakarta, after a long multi-country tour through Europe playing in tournaments. Along the way she spent a day in Hamburg, where she stopped by ChessBase HQ and shared some insights into her background and chess training. | Photo: Pascal Simon

9/5/2017 – Endgames with opposite coloured bishops are tricky. Sometimes they are a draw although one side is two or even three pawns up. Sometimes the bishop sacrifices itself to let his pawns queen and sometimes these endgames are a simple win. But you always have to be careful.

8/31/2017 – GM Nicholas Pert is in Hamburg recording a Fritztrainer to be published later this year. He joins Karsten for a look some of Pert's own queen endgames, as well as a survey of minor piece endgames from recent tournament practice. Live at 16:00 CEST (8:00 AM EST)!

8/29/2017 – If queen and king fight against king and pawn in the endgame the side with the pawn has only a chance to survive if the pawn happens to be a rook- or a bishop's pawn and is only one square away from queening. But even then things can be tricky.

8/27/2017 – Do you know which aspect of double rook endings is most often overlooked? Mating the opponent! But on his DVD about "Double rook endings" Karsten Müller dedicates a whole chapter - with stunning examples - to mating attacks in this endgame. He also shows the most important principles of this endgame. IM Martin Neubauer had a look at the DVD.

8/22/2017 – "Rooks belong behind passed pawns." Apparently, this rule goes back to Tarrasch who was known to be a bit dogmatic at times. Moreover, it's an old rule. But neither the one nor the other makes it less relevant.

8/16/2017 – Endgames are the soul of the chess games. This would probably be a phrase from GM Karsten Müller. The german grandmaster is one of the leading experts when it comes to endgames. He published books and DVD's about this topic. In his Endgame Magic Show Müller invites strong players and shows recent examples of the tournament praxis. Starting at 3pm Uk time. Guest: IM Irene Sukandar

8/15/2017 – The endgame King, Bishop and "wrong" outside pawn is a well-known draw. However, if both sides still have a rook the outside pawn usually wins. But even that is not always simple.

8/8/2017 – "The passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient." That is what Aron Nimzowitsch said about passed pawns. He knew what he was talking about. Karsten Müller also knows it.

8/1/2017 – Basically, chess is a logical and just game. However, some things still astonish. For example the fact that two knights and a king cannot mate the enemy king. But this paradox sometimes offers the defender unexpected possibilities.

7/25/2017 – Mating attacks in the endgame occur less often than in the middlegame but if they occur it is often pleasing to see how the remaining pieces and pawns harmonize to mate the enemy king.

7/18/2017 – In pawn endings when there are no more pieces on the board the kings can often roam freely. However, they should know where they are going.