The Immortal Game: the quiet pawn behind the queen sacrifice

This retrospective revisits our Immortal Game episode, originally uploaded on 24 August 2026. This article is newly published on 23 October. The existing film is a cinematic 3D replay of Anderssen–Kieseritzky, London 1851; the lesson here focuses on the position before White’s final queen offer.

Start with the pawn, not the sacrifice

Open the Immortal Game study and move the “Move scrubber” to 42/45, labelled 21… Kd8. White is to move. White’s queen is on f3, bishop on d6 and knights on d5 and g7. Black’s king is on d8, queen on a1 and knight on g8.

Before advancing, ask: after 22.Qf6+, why can’t Black’s queen capture the checking queen? Trace the diagonal a1–b2–c3–d4–e5–f6. White’s pawn on e5 interrupts it. A queen cannot jump over that pawn, however far its diagonal seems to reach.

That quiet blocker matters as much as the spectacular offer. When calculating a sacrifice, trace the defender’s whole route and name every intervening piece. Seeing two queens on one diagonal is not enough.

What the knight can actually do

In the recorded finish, 22.Qf6+ Nxf6 23.Be7# draws the g8 knight away from its defence of e7. The bishop then moves from d6 to e7 and checks the adjacent king. White’s d5 knight protects e7 and covers c7; the g7 knight covers e8. Black’s own bishop on c8 and pawn on d7 occupy the other neighbouring escape squares.

Try the bishop check too early, with 22.Be7+, and 22…Nxe7 is legal. The queen offer changes that defensive detail.

Taking the queen is not Black’s only legal answer to Qf6+. 22…Ne7 can block the diagonal, but 23.Qxe7# also mates. These are the two legal replies to the queen check in this exact position. The hash sign means checkmate; the plus sign means check. This is a verified finish from the displayed position, not a claim that every earlier sacrifice forced the same outcome.

Two corrections when watching

At about 3:06, the existing narration says the knight must capture the queen. The blocking reply Ne7 is also legal, as the line above shows. At about 3:13, the narration miscounts White’s surviving minor pieces: the final attack uses one bishop and two knights. This article corrects those explanations; the old video’s audio has not been changed.

Make the explanation yours

Return to 42/45 in the study. Before pressing “Next move”, name the pawn that blocks Black’s queen and predict both knight replies. Then advance through the recorded three half-moves. If you study with a friend, ask them to explain the pawn’s job before either of you says “queen sacrifice”.

Open the Immortal Game study and see whether you can explain why every remaining white piece matters.