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.Efstratios Grivas, The Tactics Bible: Magnum Opus, Thinkers Publications, 2019, p. 389. {{ISBN|978-9492510433}}[http://gameknot.com/annotation.pl?gm=9551&pg=0 The Peruvian Immortal Game at GameKnot][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo0PNO2pdXo Famous Chess Games: Peruvian Immortal]Ben Johnson, Identifying Critical Moments in Chess course on Chessable, chapter 3, Puzzle #6. 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."J. du Mont, 200 Miniature Games of Chess, David McKay, 1965, p. 191. 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."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). 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.Fred Reinfeld, Chess: Win in 20 Moves or Less, Ty Crowell, 2000, p. 87. {{ISBN|0-690-18916-8}}

The game

White: Esteban Canal {{pad|2}} Black: {{chessgloss|NN}} {{pad|2}} Opening: Scandinavian Defense (ECO B01)
Budapest 1934

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|Position after 10...0-0-0??

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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{{chesspunc|??}} (diagram)

:Incredibly, castling queenside turns out to be a blunder which at the least loses a piece. In another book, Reinfeld writes, "Black mistakenly thinks that [11.axb4] is out of the question. But White, seeing further ahead and relying on his excellent attacking position, has a stunning surprise continuation."Fred Reinfeld, How to Win Chess Games Quickly, 1957, Barnes & Noble, Inc., p. 64. {{ISBN|0-389-00227-5}} Iakov Neishtadt 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."Iakov Neishtadt, Catastrophe in the Opening, Pergamon Press, 1980, p. 172. {{ISBN|0-08-024097-6}} Seirawan and Minev advise, "Motto: Think twice before castling on the Queenside!"Yasser Seirawan and Nikolay Minev, Take My Rooks, International Chess Enterprises, 1991, p. 13. {{ISBN|1-879479-01-X}}

11. axb4{{chesspunc|!!}}

:If a6, b7, and c6 are unprotected by black pieces, then Boden's Mate would be possible, so White starts to deflect 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. Kd2{{chesspunc|!}}

: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,Reinfeld's descriptive notation has been converted to algebraic notation. "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{{chessAN|#}}!"Chess: Win in 20 Moves or Less, p. 87.

13. Qxc6+! bxc6 14. Ba6# {{chessAN|1–0}}

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|Final position after 14.Ba6# (a pure mate)