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Summary
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De la Bourdonnais versus McDonnell, 1834
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The Eighty-Five Games of Their Six Chess Matches. Louis Charles Mahé de la Bourdonnais and Alexander McDonnell played six chess matches in 1834. Biographies of the combatants illuminate their place in the game’s history, and their historic venue is examined. The 85 games are analyzed using modern theory; there are numerous diagrams and previously published commentary. The merits of the openings, middle- and endgame maneuvers of the two are weighed. Nine appendices present selected games against other opponents; excerpt a contemporary account of the games’ ambience; provide other interesting documents; present statistics; and provide a schematic of mistakes made by both contestants. Bibliography, notes, indexes.
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James O'Fee's Article
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The following article was kindly contributed by James O'Fee of Bangor, Co. Down, in 1997
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Biography on Wikipedia
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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.
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The Greatest British Chess Player
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Article on McDonnell in the Northern Whig 14th May 1914
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Selection of Games
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This record of the games of the Belfast born player Alexander McDonnell was originally published in 1836, shortly after his death in 1835. It was intended as a memorial to his skill as a player and includesa large number of games played at odds as well as his match games against de la Bourdonnais. As the book is a facsimile reprint of the original it is in very old style descriptive notation (Q.B. to K. third etc).
