The Peruvian Immortal is the name given to a chess game played by the Peruvian master (later grandmaster)

Esteban Canal Esteban Canal (April 19, 1896 – February 14, 1981) was a leading Peruvian chess player who had his best tournament results in the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Chiclayo, Peru, he later lived in Italy, and died in Varese. As a chess player Canal wa ...

against an unknown amateur in a simultaneous exhibition he gave at Budapest in 1934. In just 14 moves, Canal sacrificed both his

rooks Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military *Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

and his queen, finishing with Boden's mate.

Julius du Mont Julius du Mont (15 December 1881, in Paris – 7 April 1956, in Hastings, England) was a pianist, piano teacher, chess player, journalist, editor and writer. He studied music at the Frankfurt Conservatoire and at Heidelberg, and became a concert pi ...

calls it, "A charming game."

Irving Chernev Irving Chernev (January 29, 1900 – September 29, 1981) was a chess player and prolific Russian-American chess author. He was born in Pryluky in the Russian Empire (now in Ukraine) and emigrated to the United States in 1905. Chernev was a nati ...

writes, "In 13 moves, Canal sacrifices both Rooks and his Queen—and then mates on his 14th move! ... A man might play a million games of chess and never duplicate Canal's feat."

Fred Reinfeld Fred Reinfeld (January 27, 1910 – May 29, 1964) was an American writer on chess and many other subjects. He was also a strong chess master, often among the top ten American players from the early 1930s to the early 1940s, as well as a college ...

writes,

When Anderssen sacrificed two Rooks, the Queen etc. against Kieseritzky, the finished product was described as ''the'' immortal game'. It might be more accurate to call it ''an'' immortal game', for since that time there have been many claimants to the title. Not the least deserving is hislittle gem, on which Canal may have lavished something less than five minutes. The game has the blazing quality of a Liszt improvisation.

The game

White: Esteban Canal Black:

Opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

Scandinavian Defense The Scandinavian Defense (or Center Counter Defense, or Center Counter Game) is a chess opening characterized by the moves: :1. e4 d5 This opening is classified under code B01 in the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' (). The Scandinavian ...

('' ECO'' B01)
Budapest 1934 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 c6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bf4 e6 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Bb4 9. Be2 Nd7 10. a3 0-0-0 (diagram) :Incredibly,

castling Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king two squares toward a rook on the same and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is permitted only if neither the king nor the rook has previously moved ...

queenside turns out to be a

blunder A blunder refers to a "stupid, careless mistake". Specific instances include: * Blunder (chess), a very poor move in chess * Hopetoun Blunder, an event in Australian history * Brand blunder, in marketing * Draft blunder, in American sports * Himala ...

which at the least loses the queen. In another book, Reinfeld writes, "Black mistakenly thinks that 1.axb4is out of the question. But White, seeing further ahead and relying on his excellent attacking position, has a stunning surprise continuation."

Iakov Neishtadt Yakov Isaevich Neishtadt (russian: Яков Исаевич Нейштадт, also transliterated Jakov Isajevich Nejstadt; 6 October 1923 – 23 March 2023) was a Soviet and Israeli chess player and author. Biography Yakov Neishtadt was born in M ...

writes, "Black is convinced that his opponent cannot take the Bishop. This would indeed have been the case if he had played not 10...0-0-0, but 10...Ngf6." Seirawan and Minev advise, "Motto: Think twice before castling on the Queenside!" 11. axb4 :If a6, b7, and c6 are unprotected by black pieces, then Boden's Mate would be possible, so White starts to

deflect Deflection or deflexion may refer to: Board games * Deflection (chess), a tactic that forces an opposing chess piece to leave a square * Khet (game), formerly ''Deflexion'', an Egyptian-themed chess-like game using lasers Mechanics * Deflection ...

the black queen from guarding these squares by force. 11... Qxa1+ :If Black plays 11...Qb6 in order to protect a6, b7, and c6, then (besides already being a piece up) White could continue to attack the black queen with 12.Na4 (12...Qxb4+? 13.c3 Qb3 14.Ra3), and the queen will run out of safe squares to protect a6, b7, or c6. 12. Kd2 :Another deflection. Black is doomed now, for after capturing the white rook at a1, Black loses the last chance to protect c6, and the black queen is unable to stay on the a-file to protect a6. 12... Qxh1 :Reinfeld writes, "Microscopically preferable was 12...Ne5 13.Bxe5 Qxh1 14.Qxf7 Rd7 (amusing would be 14...Ne7 15.Qxe6+! Rd7 16.Bg4 Rhd8 17.Qd6! forcing mate) 15.Qe8+ Rd8 16.Qxe6+ Rd7 17.Qe8+ Rd8 18.Bg4!"''Chess: Win in 20 Moves or Less'', p. 87. 13. Qxc6+! bxc6 14. Ba6#

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

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Chess games Chess in Hungary 1934 in chess 1934 in Hungarian sport Nicknamed sporting events

The game

See also

References

External links