Peruvian Immortal

The Peruvian Immortal is the name given to a chess game played by the Peruvian master (later grandmaster) Esteban Canal against an unknown amateur in a simultaneous exhibition he gave at Budapest in 1934.[1][2][3][4] In just 14 moves, Canal sacrificed both his rooks and his queen, finishing with Boden's mate.

Julius du Mont calls it, "A charming game."[5] Irving Chernev 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."[6] Fred Reinfeld 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 [this] little gem, on which Canal may have lavished something less than five minutes. The game has the blazing quality of a Liszt improvisation.[7]

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
  1. ^ Efstratios Grivas, The Tactics Bible: Magnum Opus, Thinkers Publications, 2019, p. 389. ISBN 978-9492510433
  2. ^ The Peruvian Immortal Game at GameKnot
  3. ^ Famous Chess Games: Peruvian Immortal
  4. ^ Ben Johnson, Identifying Critical Moments in Chess course on Chessable, chapter 3, Puzzle #6.
  5. ^ J. du Mont, 200 Miniature Games of Chess, David McKay, 1965, p. 191.
  6. ^ Irving Chernev, Wonders and Curiosities of Chess, Dover Publications, 1974, pp. 142-43. ISBN 0-486-23007-4. Chernev describes the game almost identically in his earlier book Irving Chernev, The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess: A Treasury of Masterpieces in Miniature, Simon & Schuster, 1955, p. 96 (game 212).
  7. ^ Fred Reinfeld, Chess: Win in 20 Moves or Less, Ty Crowell, 2000, p. 87. ISBN 0-690-18916-8