EpisodesRound 04

Levy's Immortal

Four passed pawns against a queen, 36 seconds on the clock. The pawns won.

Now playing2:19

Levy's Immortal: the video's cover

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Levy RozmanWins · material 8/39

Klendi ZeneliK.O. · material 11/39

White: Levy RozmanGothamChess. International Master, rated 2370.
Black: Klendi ZeneliCandidate Master from Albania, rated 2231.
Event: 22nd Spilimbergo Open, round 7
Place: Spilimbergo, Italy
Date: 13 August 2024
Opening: King's Indian Attack, Double Fianchetto (A07)
Result: 1-0Black resigned, 54 moves
Video: 2:19Published 9 November 2026

The story

Spilimbergo, Italy, 13 August 2024. Levy Rozman, GothamChess to his viewers, is an International Master rated 2370, and he is filming his attempt to become a grandmaster. After six rounds of the Spilimbergo Open he has 3.5 points. In round 7 he has White against Klendi Zeneli, a Candidate Master from Albania rated 2231.

The opening is quiet: a King's Indian Attack with both bishops fianchettoed. On move 19 it stops being quiet. 19.dxc5 lets the black bishop take the rook on a1. Levy gets a bishop and a strong pawn for it, and the engine calls the position level before and after.

Zeneli hits back. 32...Nc6 offers a knight to open the d-file, and when Levy takes it both black rooks come down to d2. Black now threatens the f2 pawn with check and mate on g2.

Levy answers with 35.Qxd2: his queen for a rook. It is the only move that holds; every other move loses. One move later, after 36.cxb7, White has four passed pawns on the queenside against a queen.

The rest is a time scramble. The black queen gives thirteen checks, and both players miss their chances. After 47.a7 two white pawns stand one step from queening, and Levy has 36 seconds on his clock. Zeneli's check 50...Qe3+ is the one that loses: 50...Qe1+ still held the draw. He resigned after 54...Qc3, with two pawns about to queen.

Levy finished the tournament with 6 points from 9. He named his video about the game "I SACRIFICED EVERYTHING", and in it he says it was the most fun game of his life.

Key moments

Frames from the video, one for each turning point.

19.dxc5!?
The exchange sacrifice
The bishop may take the rook on a1. Levy keeps a bishop and the pawn on c5 for it.
35.Qxd2!!
The queen sacrifice
Queen for a rook, and the only move that holds. Every other move loses.
36.cxb7
Four passed pawns
Four pawns on the queenside against a queen, and one of them already on b7.
47.a7
Twin pawns
Two pawns one step from queening. Levy has 36 seconds left.
54...Qc3
Zeneli resigns
Two pawns are about to queen. The engine counts mate in eight.

Command list

Rozman vs Zeneli · 108 plies · 1-0

The PGN file

[Event "22nd Spilimbergo Open"]
[Site "Spilimbergo ITA"]
[Date "2024.08.13"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Rozman, Levy"]
[Black "Zeneli, Klendi"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 c6 5. O-O Nf6 6. a4 a5 7. c4 dxc4 8. Na3 O-O
9. Nxc4 Ne4 10. Qc2 Nd6 11. b3 Bf5 12. Qd2 Be6 13. Qd3 Na6 14. Ba3 Nb4 15. Bxb4
axb4 16. Ncd2 Nf5 17. e3 c5 18. g4 Nd6 19. dxc5 Bxa1 20. Rxa1 Nc8 21. Qe4 Bd5
22. Qxb4 Na7 23. e4 Bc6 24. Qc3 Qc7 25. Ne5 Rfd8 26. Nec4 Qf4 27. h3 Rd7 28. Ne3
Rad8 29. Ra2 Rd3 30. Qa5 R8d7 31. Nd5 Bxd5 32. exd5 Nc6 33. dxc6 Rxd2 34. Rxd2
Rxd2 35. Qxd2 Qxd2 36. cxb7 Qd1+ 37. Kh2 Qd8 38. b4 f5 39. a5 Qb8+ 40. Kg1 fxg4
41. hxg4 Qe5 42. a6 Qe1+ 43. Kh2 Qe5+ 44. Kg1 Qe1+ 45. Kh2 Qe5+ 46. Kh3 h5
47. a7 hxg4+ 48. Kxg4 Qf5+ 49. Kg3 Qe5+ 50. f4 Qe3+ 51. Bf3 Qg1+ 52. Kh3 Qf1+
53. Bg2 Qd3+ 54. Kh2 Qc3 1-0

Behind the edit

What it took to turn 108 plies into 2:19 of video. Counted from the finished edit.

Effects: 855
Kinds of effect: 80
Sound cues: 126
Moves, each with its own light: 108
Seconds of video: 139

What we checked

Every caption in the video was checked against the sources. Some well-known stories did not survive.

Black resigned after a pawn queened.
That is how Levy tells it in his video. The record of the live board ends with 54...Qc3 and has no promotion; the last move or two may never have reached the feed. The video shows the resignation after 54...Qc3 and the two new queens only as the threat that followed.
The queen sacrifice wins by force.
It does not: after 35.Qxd2 the engine gives 0.00. It is the only move that holds, though: 35.Bf3 and 35.f3 both lose. After it, both sides went wrong. 36...Qe1+ was the only draw, 38.b4 gave the win back (38.a5 won), and 50...Qe3+ turned a draw into a forced mate.
36 seconds on the clock.
From the clock times in the broadcast: Levy had 36 seconds after 47.a7. Zeneli was under a minute after 41...Qe5 and had 38 seconds after 53...Qd3+.
Thirteen queen checks.
Counted on the scoresheet: 36...Qd1+ and 39...Qb8+, then a run of four from 42...Qe1+ and a run of seven from 47...hxg4+.

Credits

Photo: Levy Rozman by Piaras Ó Mídheach / Collision via Sportsfile (CC BY 2.0), cropped and cut out, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music and voices: original.

Sources

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