Esteban Canal (April 19, 1896 – February 14, 1981)
was a leading
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
vian
chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
player who had his best tournament results in the 1920s and 1930s. Born in
Chiclayo
Chiclayo (; mochica language, Mochica: ''Cɥiclaiæp'') is the principal city and capital of the Lambayeque region and Chiclayo Province in northern Peru. It is located from the Pacific coast, from the city of Trujillo, Peru, Trujillo, and from ...
, Peru, he later lived in Italy, and died in
Varese
Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559.
It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...
.
As a chess player
Canal was placed second at Trieste 1923, tied for second at Merano 1926, tenth at Budapest 1929, tied for tenth out of 22 at Carlsbad 1929, tied for seventh at Rohitsch-Sauerbrunn 1929, second at Budapest 1932, tied for fourth at Bad Sliac, first at Budapest 1933, fifth at Mährisch-Ostrau 1933, and tied for first at
Reus
Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...
1936. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he was tied for second at Venice 1947, tied for sixth at Bad Gastein 1948, tied for second at Venice 1948, and finally won at Venice 1953.
Canal had an even record against
World Champion Max Euwe
Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 ...
. He won in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in 1948:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Ne2 Bg4 8. c3 Bc5 9. Ng3 Nh5 10. Nf5 Bb6 11. d4 exd4 12. cxd4 d5 13. h3 Bxf5 14. exf5 Nf6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Be3 Ne4 17. Rc1 Re8 18. g4 Qf6 19. Qa4 Qe7 20. Rfe1 Rad8 21. Rxc6 Rd6 22. Rxd6 Nxd6 23. Qc6 Rb8 24. Qxd5 Qd7 25. Bf4 h6 26. Ne5 Qa4 27. Nc6 Rf8 28. f6 Re8 29. Re7 1-0.
Canal played his most famous game, sometimes called the "
Peruvian Immortal", at a
simultaneous exhibition
A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition (commonly chess or Go) in which one player (typically of high rank, such as a grandmaster or dan-level player) plays multiple games at a time with a number of other pl ...
in 1934. In just 14 moves he
sacrificed both his
rooks and his
queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
to finish with
Boden's mate
Boden's Mate is a checkmating pattern in chess characterized by bishops on two criss-crossing diagonals (for example, bishops on a6 and f4 delivering mate to a king on c8), with possible flight squares for the king being occupied by friendly piece ...
.
As a writer
Canal wrote "Strategia di Avamposti" (Outpost Strategy) in 1948, in which he explains his ideas with 50 games commented in his colorful style. It contains games with players such as Capablanca, Nimzovitch, Rubinstein, Vidmar, Reti, Pirc, Saemisch, Menchik, Lilienthal, Bogoljubov, and other greats of the time.
From 1962 to 1978, Esteban Canal also kept a chess column in the Italian magazine "Fenarete Letture d'Italia".
National teams
Canal played in one
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in FIDE Onli ...
, representing Peru on board 1 in 1950 at Dubrovnik.
Canal, Esteban
team chess record at olimpbase.org FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...
made him an International Master
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
in 1950 and an honorary Grandmaster in 1977.
Bibliography
*
References
External links
*
Video reenactment of Esteban Canal vs NN (Simul, Budapest, 1934) game by Serguei Vorojtsov
1896 births
1981 deaths
20th-century chess players
Chess Grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Peruvian chess players
Italian chess players
{{Peru-chess-bio-stub