From Chess
Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) was an Irish chess master, who contested a series of six matches with the world’s leading player Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais in the summer of 1834.
It was the first match of any importance in the history of chess and is still 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. (Text from Wikipedia)
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795 - 1840) was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.
De La Bourdonnais was considered to be the unofficial world 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. The match is covered in detail in the McDonnell page. (Text from Wikipedia)
Game 1: Alexander McDonnell - Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Match 4, Game 16, London 1834
Sicilian Defence, Löwenthal Variation
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 e5
5. Nxc6 bxc6
6. Bc4 Nf6
7. Bg5 Be7
8. Qe2 d5
9. Bxf6 Bxf6
10. Bb3 O-O
11. O-O a5
12. exd5 cxd5
13. Rd1 d4
14. c4 Qb6
15. Bc2 Bb7
16. Nd2
Alexander McDonnell - Louis Charles de Labourdonnais, Match 4, Game 16, London 1834
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| Eftir byrjunina stendur svartur aðeins betur. Ástæðan er sú að biskupaparið er sterkara en biskup og riddari, og staðan er opin, en í opnum stöðum una biskupar sér vel.
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16...Rae8
17. Ne4 Bd8
18. c5 Qc6
19. f3 Be7
20. Rac1 f5
21. Qc4+ Kh8
22. Ba4 Qh6
Alexander McDonnell - Louis Charles de Labourdonnais, Match 4, Game 16, London 1834
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| Í þessari stöðu er freistandi fyrir hvítan að taka hrókinn á e8, en það eru mistök, enda verða miðborðspeðin gífurlega öflug fyrir vikið.
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23. Bxe8 fxe4
24. c6 exf3
Alexander McDonnell - Louis Charles de Labourdonnais, Match 4, Game 16, London 1834
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| Svartur metur mannsfórn þess virði að rústa hvítu kóngsstöðunni.
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25. Rc2 Qe3+
26. Kh1 Bc8
27. Bd7 f2
28. Rf1 d3
29. Rc3 Bxd7
30. cxd7 e4
31. Qc8 Bd8
32. Qc4 Qe1
33. Rc1 d2
34. Qc5 Rg8
35. Rd1 e3
36. Qc3
Alexander McDonnell - Louis Charles de Labourdonnais, Match 4, Game 16, London 1834
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| Þetta er mögnuð staða. Hvítur er skiptamun yfir og hótar drottningunni, en samt er hann með koltapað vegna þess hvað miðborðspeð svarts eru komin langt.
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36...Qxd1
37. Rxd1 e2
0-1
Alexander McDonnell - Louis Charles de Labourdonnais, Match 4, Game 16, London 1834
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| Lokastaðan. Svartur er drottningu undir, en samt með kolunnið enda þrjú peð á annari röð. Kasparov lét hafa efitr sér að þessi staða hafa kveikt áhuga hans á skákinni.
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