One of The Greatest Games Ever Played

Table Of Contents (A Game in Three Parts):

The Curious Case of The Malfunctioning Opening
The Curious Case of The Trapped Rook
The Curious Case of The Helpless Queen

Yuri Semyonovich Gusev. Source: https://vk.com/@chesshouse-shahmatisty-vstretivshie-den-pobedy-chast-1

Yuri Semyonovich Gusev was born in Russia on September 25th, 1921. During WW2, Gusev defended on the Volokolamsk-Moscow route which the Germans were advancing on during the Battle of Moscow. During the war he served as a shooter, combat engineer and radio technician, achieving the rank of Sergeant Major. Gusev was awarded the following medals: Order of the Red Star, Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Degree, For Military Merit and For the Defense of Moscow.

In 1946, Gusev played his Immortal Game at the Molniya Sporting Society Championship in Chelyabinsk against E. Auerbach (a minor Soviet Master). He was about 25 years old. In 1948 he drew a match against Ilya Kan. He was given the title of USSR Master of Sport in 1951. Gusev competed in many Moscow Championships and also qualified to the semifinals of the USSR Championship. He continued with chess all through his life, dominating in the Veterans tournaments. He won the 1989 International Tournament of Veterans in Moscow and the 1st Veteran Championship of the USSR in 1990. Gusev passed away in 2011.

In this blog you shall be looking at a game that is known as Gusev's Immortal. Immortal Games are games which feature spectacular ideas and stand the test of time.

His opponent E. Auerbach is a mystery. Their game against Gusev seems to be their only recorded chess game.

A common misconception:

The game was published in the Soviet Chess Magazine Shakhmaty v SSSR (10/1951, p. 300). When the game became known overseas however, E. Auerbach had dramatically transformed into GM Yuri Averbakh, a top Soviet player who won the 1949 Moscow Championship and the 1954 USSR Championship. Harry Golombek's 1954 book 'The Game of Chess' simply referred to the surname 'Averbakh' (transliteration from the original АУЭРБАХ). The book also incorrectly stated the game as having occurred in Moscow. This same misattribution then spread to other books (with the game also shifting to 1951 instead of 1946). Even chesscom's database still has the wrong info for this game, falsely claiming that Yuri Averbakh was the opponent and that this game was played in 1951.

Yuri S. Gusev vs E. Auerbach in Shakhmaty v SSSR (10/1951, p. 300) Source: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter112.html#CN_8405

Gusev's Immortal achieved legendary status due to Gusev's sacrifices and the unique positions that arose. This game is still a remembered one after 80 years.

The Curious Case of The Malfunctioning Opening

The Curious Case of The Trapped Rook

The Curious Case of The Helpless Queen

Conclusion

This game is one of the most legendary games of chess ever played. Gusev attacked in the opening and got a dominant position with two blistering sacrifices. The shining gem is the queen sacrifice that followed and the handling of the subsequent position. The bishop manoeuvre was aesthetic and the zugzwang beautiful. This is why the game is still remembered 80 years later.

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