[blind-chess] Annotated Game #003: La Bourdonnais - McDonnell, London 1834 (fwd)
- From: Roderick Macdonald <rmacd@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Blind Chess Mailing List <blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 16:05:15 -1000 (HST)
Annotated Game #003:
Louis de La Bourdonnais - Alexander McDonnell, London 1834
Adapted and Condensed from
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Contents:
++1. Louis-Charles Mahi de La Bourdonnais
++1/A Early life
++1.B Unofficial World Chess Champion
++1.C Death
++2. Alexander McDonnell
++2.A Early life
++2.B Matches with La Bourdonnais
++2.C Death
++3. La Bourdonnais - McDonnell chess matches
++3.A Background
++3.B La Bourdonnais and McDonnell matches
++3.C The 50th Game
++1. Louis-Charles Mahi de La Bourdonnais
World Champion: 1821-1840 (Unofficial)
Louis-Charles Mahi de La Bourdonnais (1795-1840) was a French chess
master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.
++1/A Early life
La Bourdonnais was born on the island of La Riunion in the Indian
Ocean in 1797. He learned chess in 1814 and began to take the game
seriously in 1818, when he regularly played at the Cafe de la
Rigence. He took lessons from Jacques Frangois Mouret, his first
teacher, and within two years he became one of the best players of
the Cafi.
La Bourdonnais was forced to earn his living as a professional
chess player after squandering his fortune on ill-advised land
deals.
++1.B Unofficial World Chess Champion
La Bourdonnais was considered to be the unofficial World Chess
Champion (there was no official title at the time) from 1821, when
he became able to beat his chess teacher Alexandre Deschapelles,
until his death in 1840. The most famous match series, indeed
considered as the world championship, was the one against Alexander
McDonnell in 1834.
++1.C Death
He died penniless in London in 1840, having been forced to sell all
of his possessions, including his clothes, to satisfy his
creditors. George Walker arranged to have him buried just a stone's
throw away from his old rival Alexander McDonnell in London's
Kensal Green Cemetery.
He was the grandson of Bertrand-Frangois Mahi de La Bourdonnais.
++2. Alexander McDonnell
Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) was an Irish chess master, who
contested a series of six matches with the world's leading player
Louis-Charles Mahi de La Bourdonnais in the summer of 1834.
++2. Alexander McDonnell
++2.A Early life
The son of a surgeon, Alexander McDonnell was born in Belfast in
1798. He was trained as a merchant and worked for some time in the
West Indies. In 1820 he settled in London, where he became the
secretary of the Committee of West Indian Merchants. It was a
lucrative post that made him a wealthy man and left him with plenty
of time to indulge his passion for chess.
In 1825 he became a pupil of William Lewis, who was then the
leading player in Britain. But soon McDonnell had become so good
that Lewis, fearing for his reputation, simply refused to play him
anymore.
++2.B Matches with La Bourdonnais
At that time the world's strongest player was the French aristocrat
Louis-Charles Mahi de La Bourdonnais. Between June and October 1834
La Bourdonnais and McDonnell played a series of six matches, a
total of eighty-five games, at the Westminster Chess Club in
London. McDonnell won the second match, while La Bourdonnais won
first, third, fourth, and fifth. The sixth match was unfinished.
++2.C Death
McDonnell was suffering from Bright's disease, a historical
classification of nephritis, which affects the kidneys. In the
summer of 1835 his condition worsened and he died in London on 15
September 1835 before his match with La Bourdonnais could be
resumed.
When La Bourdonnais died penniless in 1840, George Walker arranged
to have him buried in London's Kensal Green Cemetery, near where
his old rival McDonnell is buried.
++3. La Bourdonnais - McDonnell chess matches
The La Bourdonnais - McDonnell chess matches were a series of chess
matches in 1834 between Louis-Charles Mahi de La Bourdonnais of
France and Alexander McDonnell of Ireland. These matches confirmed
La Bourdonnais as the leading chess player in the world. They are
sometimes seen as having been unofficial World Chess Championship
matches, before the title of World Chess Champion existed.
It was the first match of importance in the history of chess and is
sometimes referred to today as the World Championship of 1834. The
games were published widely, and were annotated and discussed by
enthusiasts all over Europe. In the course of the mammoth
encounter, both players introduced several innovations, a few of
which are still seen today. It might even be said that the modern
era of chess began with the McDonnell-La Bourdonnais match of 1834.
La Bourdonnais won the first, third, fourth and fifth matches;
McDonnell won the second match, and the sixth was abandoned with
McDonnell leading. The overall score was 45 wins to La Bourdonnais,
27 wins to McDonnell, and 13 draws.
++3.A Background
De La Bourdonnais was considered the world's leading player from
1821, when he surpassed his mentor Alexandre Deschapelles. In 1823
La Bourdonnais defeated William Lewis, Britain's leading player, in
a match in London, and in the spring of 1825 he played and defeated
the best players that England had to offer. Nine years later he
returned to London when a challenge was issued on McDonnell's
behalf.
++3.B La Bourdonnais and McDonnell matches
Match summary:
Match #1:
La Bourdonnais won 16 drew 4 lost 5
Match won by La Bourdonnais 18-7
Match #2:
La Bourdonnais won 4 drew 0 lost 5
Match won by McDonnell 5-4
Match #3:
La Bourdonnais won 6 drew 1 lost 5
Match won by La Bourdonnais 6.5-5.5
Match #4:
La Bourdonnais won 8 drew 7 lost 3
Match won by La Bourdonnais 11.5-6.5
Match #5:
La Bourdonnais won 7 drew 1 lost 4
Match won by La Bourdonnais 7.5-4.5
Match #6:
La Bourdonnais won 4 Drew 0 lost 5
Match unfinished with McDonnell leading 5-4
Total:
La Bourdonnais won 45
McDonnell won 27
There were 13 draws
Between June and October 1834 La Bourdonnais and McDonnell played
a series of six matches, a total of eighty-five games, at the
Westminster Chess Club in London. The games were recorded for
posterity by the club's elderly founder William Greenwood Walker,
who remained by McDonnell's side for almost the entire duration of
the match. Play generally began around noon, some of the games
taking more than seven hours to complete. La Bourdonnais knew no
English and McDonnell knew no French. It is said that the only word
they exchanged during their historic encounter was "check!"
After each game, McDonnell would return to his room exhausted,
where he would spend hours pacing back and forth in a state of
nervous agitation. Meanwhile La Bourdonnais would be downstairs
regaling himself at the chessboard. He would continue to play till
long after midnight, smoking cigars, drinking punch and gambling.
One night he reportedly played forty games before going to bed,
even though he had to face McDonnell the following morning.
McDonnell and La Bourdonnais were evenly matched in their abilities
across the board, but wildly contrasted in their styles of play.
The Frenchman was renowned for the rapidity of his play, often
replying to his opponent's moves within seconds, whereas the
Irishman sometimes took as many as two hours to make a single move.
But despite his deliberation, McDonnell was a reckless player.
Where the Frenchman preferred to err on the side of caution, the
Irishman could not resist embarking on wild and often ill-
considered attacks, something which told against him during their
encounter.
The characters of the two men were also very different. La
Bourdonnais was an ebullient and garrulous individual. When
winning, he grew talkative and affable; but when things went
against him, he "swore tolerably round oaths in a pretty audible
voice", as Walker recorded. McDonnell on the other hand was
observed to be taciturn and imperturbable. Winning or losing, he
betrayed little emotion at the table, a habit which seemingly
unnerved his explosive opponent.
In the first match of the series McDonnell's lack of big-match
experience told against him and he was heavily defeated by sixteen
games to five, with four draws (+5 -16 =4). But he quickly
recovered from this setback and went on to win the second match by
five games to four (+5 -4).
Although the title of World Chess Champion was not created until
1886 (with Wilhelm Steinitz as the first champion), the world's
leading players from earlier times are recognized today as
unofficial world champions. La Bourdonnais is usually regarded as
the champion from 1821 until his death in 1840. It is often said
that he defeated McDonnell in their mammoth encounter in 1834. But
the 1834 World Championship was not one match: it was a series of
six matches, the second of which was won by McDonnell. It could be
argued that McDonnell ought to be recognized as the unofficial
world champion for the brief period between the second and third
matches of his series with La Bourdonnais.
La Bourdonnais won the third match, by a score of +6 -5 =1. He also
won the fourth and fifth matches +8 -3 and +7 -4 respectively. The
final match was abandoned in obscure circumstances. Apparently La
Bourdonnais was forced to return to France to deal with his
creditors. McDonnell was leading +5 -4 at the time. It seems the
players had a loose agreement to continue the match at a later
date. Another story suggests that La Bourdonnais gave McDonnell
odds of a three-game lead, with the first player to reach eight
victories being declared the winner, but this is unlikely and
impossible to confirm.
Harry Golombek evaluated the games and found them to generally be
of low quality. There were some instances of brilliance, but the
level of technique, especially in the endgame was low. In one game
McDonnell had an endgame with a rook and two pawns versus a rook
and did not know how to win. He lost his rook due to a blunder and
lost the game. La Bourdonnais was not as bad as McDonnell in the
endgame but he was weak in the opening. The games lacked any
cohesive strategy. There were relatively few draws, but this was
partly due to MdDonnell's inaccurate defense, which caused him to
lose games instead of draw them.
++3.C The 50th Game
McDonnell-Labourdonais match #4, Round 50, London 1834
White: Louis De Labourdonnais
Black: Alexander McDonnell
Result: 0-1
ECO: D20 - Queen's Gambit Accepted, Saduleto Variation
(Notes by R.J. Macdonald. Additional notes from an unknown source.)
Still one of the most exciting chess games ever played. McDonnell
sacrifices a queen for two minor pieces and a very strong position.
This is an excellent example of a positional queen sacrifice. Queen
sacrifices are rarely made unless they win immediately.
1. d4 d5
2. c4
(The Queen's Gambit.)
2. ... dxc4
(Accepted. Black does not expect to hold on to the extra pawn.)
3. e4
(Trying to control the center and planning 4. Bxc4. Nowadays 3. Nf3
is preferred to prevent Black's next move.)
3. ... e5
(After 4. dxe5 Qxd1+ 5. Kxd1 Be6 the position is even.)
4. d5 f5
(Attacking the base of the pawn chain. A side pawn is usually less
important than a center pawn.)
5. Nc3
(If now 5. ... fxe4? then 6. Qh5+ and after either 6. ... g6 or 6.
... Ke7 White plays Qxe5+ with a winning position.)
5. ... Nf6
6. Bxc4
(regaining the gambit pawn.)
6. ... Bc5
(The bishop is more aggressively placed here than on d6.)
7. Nf3
(Developing the knight and threatening the e pawn.)
7. ... Qe7
(guarding the pawn.)
8. Bg5
(This is eventually shown to be a mistake, but it is not a blunder;
it is a deliberate pawn sacrifice.)
8. ... Bxf2+
(If 9. Kxf2 then 9. ... fxe4 10. Bxf6 (Not 10. Nxe4 Nxe4+) 10. ...
Qc5+ 11. Ke1 exf3 12. Bb5+ c6 13. Qxf3 (Not 13. Bxg7 Qe3+) gxf6
wins back the piece with a good game for Black.)
9. Kf1 Bb6
10. Qe2
(Although White has lost the right to castle, all of his pieces are
active except his shut-in rook on h1. White is threatening to win
his pawn back by 11. exf5 Bxf5 Nxe5. If Black plays 10. ... fxe4
then after 11. Nxe4 the threat of 12. Nxf6 breaking up Black's
kingside is difficult to cope with. )
10. ... f4
11. Rd1
(Bringing the rook to an active central position.)
11. ... Bg4
(Pinning White's knight.)
12. d6
(To make room for the knight on d5.)
12. ... cxd6
13. Nd5
(If 13. ... Qd8 then 14. Nxf4 exf4 15. e5 winning back the knight
with a crushing attack.)
13. ... Nxd5!!
(A striking conception. Black's two minor pieces will be more
powerful than White's queen.)
14. Bxe7 Ne3+
15. Ke1
(In retrospect, it might have been better to give back the queen
with 15. Qxe3 although Black would have ended up a pawn ahead.)
15. ... Kxe7
16. Qd3
(Breaking the pin on the knight and threatening 17. Qxd6.)
16. ... Rd8
(Guarding the d pawn. Black has no desire to trade his wonderful
knight on e3 for the rook on d1.)
17. Rd2
(Guards the pawn on g2.)
17. ... Nc6
18. b3 Ba5
(Pinning the rook.)
19. a3 Rac8
(Bringing his only undeveloped piece into action. If 20. b4 then
20. ... Nxb4 21. axb4 Bxb4 22. Ba2 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Rc2 threatening
24. ... Rxd2 and 24. ... Rxa2.)
20. Rg1 b5
(Black now gains an advantage in material as well as position.)
21. Bxb5 Bxf3
(If 22. Bxc6 then 22. ... Rxc6 23. gxf3 Rc1+ 24. Kf2 Bxd2 25. Qxd2
Rc2 wins.)
22. gxf3 Nd4
(If 23. Kf2 then 23. ... Bxd2 and White cannot play 24. Qxd2
because of 24. ... Rc2 winning the queen.)
23. Bc4
(Attempting to block the entrance of the Black rook.)
23. ... Nxf3+
24. Kf2 Nxd2
25. Rxg7+
(Black must play carefully here.)
25. ... Kf6
26. Rf7+ Kg6
27. Rb7 Ndxc4
28. bxc4 Rxc4
29. Qb1
(Threatening Qg1+ with a mating attack.)
29. ... Bb6
(Threatening to move the knight on e3 with discovered check. If 30.
Qg1+ then 31. ... Ng4+ winning the queen.)
30. Kf3
(White is again threatening Qg1+.)
30. ... Rc3!
(Now if 31. Qg1+ then 31. ... Ng4+ 32. Kxg4 Bxg1.)
31. Qa2
(Threatening Qf7+.)
31. ... Nc4+
(Cutting off the queen.)
32. Kg4 Rg8
(Threatening 33. ... Kh6+ (with the rook) 34. Kh4 Bd8+ and Mate.
(next move. Also possible was 33. ... h5+ 34. Kh4 Bd8# Paul
Benson.))
33. Rxb6 axb6
34. Kh4 Kf6
35. Qe2 Rg6
36. Qh5 Ne3
0-1
(In view of 37. Qxh7 Ng2+ 38. Kh5 Rh3#)
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