The Soul of Chess

After dropping a couple of pieces in a ten-minute game, my position was near hopeless. My only chance was the difficulty my opponent faced in finding the correct defense.

White to move

34.Rg1!

The only move to preserve the win.

34.Re1, which looks reasonable on the surface, fails. 34...d2! 35.Rfxe2 Rc1 36.Kg1 Rxe1+ 37.Kf2 d1Q 38.Rxe1 Qd4+ picks up the knight and leaves queen vs. rook with pawns on both sides.

34...Rc1

A desperate gamble.

35.Rxc1 d2 36.Rff1

Black to move

Black can take either rook, but not both. White wins.

In the game, White, with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, spent half a minute and did not find the critical Rg1. He took my rook and then resigned after 34...e1Q+.

One of my students who also did not find 34.Rg1, did find 36.Rff1 after my 34...Rc1?? 34...d2! would have won for Black.

My pawns rolling down the center of the board were inspired by many historic games. My students are seeing the well-known game McDonnell,A. De Labourdonnais, L. 1834

White to move

After 31...Bd8

32.Qc4 Qe1 33.Rc1 d2 34.Qc5 Rg8 35.Rd1 e3 36.Qc3

Black to move

36...Qxd1 37.Rxd1 e2 0-1

I am also showing students the end of  Petrosian,T. -- Fischer,R. 1958

Black to move

63...Kd2 64.Rxc2+ Kxc2 65.Kg5 c4 66.f6 c3 67.f7

Here Fischer offered a draw and Petrosian agreed, but with my students, we carry the game further to assure than they understand why the resulting queen vs. c-pawn endgame is a draw.

Of course, François-André Danican Philidor's analysis in Analyse du jeu des Échecs (1849) also inspired my play. It was in this book that Philidor offered his famous line, "pawns are the soul of chess."

White to move

38.f7 Rf8 39.Nf4+ Kg7 40.Bh5 and White's pawns cannot be stopped.

Analyzing Variations

Lesson of the Week

My chess students range from beginners struggling to remember how all the pieces move to several of the top local scholastic competitors. In a club for beginners this week, I worked with most of the students individually on checkmate with queen and king against a lone king (see "Teaching Elementary Checkmates").

My other students--both those receiving individual lessons and those in groups--were presented with a variety of positions that might have occurred in actual games. A few were also shown a portion of a game from the 1969 World Championship between challenger Boris Spassky and Tigran Petrosian.

Many students saw two positions that might have resulted in the first match game between Louis Charles de la Bourdonnais and Alexander McDonnell (see "Three Fighting Draws" for the whole game).

Black to move

After 46.Nxe7

Could White have preserved the draw after 46.Nxe7 instead of the move he played in the game?

This variation might have led to the following position.

White to move

Can White prevent Black's pawn from becoming a queen?

Several students were shown the entire game Mayet -- Anderssen, London 1851.*

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc4 4.c3 Nf6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Bg4 7.h3 h5 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Nxe5 g3 10.d4 Nxe4 11.Qg4 Bxd4 12.Qxe4 Bxf2+

The game may have ended here, or been played one move longer, or even all the way until checkmate.

White to move

After 12...Bxf2+

Those who were shown this game went through it repeatedly, looking for improvements. First, efforts were made to find where White's position became hopelessly lost and to suggest alternatives. Then, efforts were also made to find improvements for Black.

One group and several individuals were shown the final portion of Spassky -- Petrosian 1969.

Spassky,Boris V -- Petrosian,Tigran V [D41]
World Championship 27th Moscow (5), 23.04.1969

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 0–0 11.Bc4 Nc6 12.0–0 b6 13.Rad1 Bb7 14.Rfe1 Rc8 15.d5 exd5 16.Bxd5 Na5 17.Qf4 Qc7 18.Qf5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Qc2

White to move

The most important element in this position is White's passed d-pawn. In Chess.com's Chess Mentor, this position is presented with guidelines for handling such pawn. I communicated these ideas to the students.

1) control the square in front of the pawn
2) trade off minor pieces
3) keep the queens on the board to prevent the defending king's activity
4) keep at least one rook

The player defending against such a pawn, of course, hopes to trade queens, blockade the pawn with a minor piece, and activate the king. The Chess Mentor lesson focuses on White's side of things in this struggle and does not elucidate the defensive ideas.

20.Qf4 Qxa2 21.d6 Rcd8 22.d7 Qc4 23.Qf5 h6 24.Rc1 Qa6 25.Rc7 b5 26.Nd4 Qb6 27.Rc8

The Chess Mentor lesson ends here.

27...Nb7 28.Nc6 Nd6 29.Nxd8 Nxf5 30.Nc6 1–0

*The Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games (1981) presents this game as Berlin 1859 with the source as The Chess Monthly (1882). In that publication, however, it is stated that the game was played during the International Chess Tournament, London 1851. Mayet and Anderssen did not play each other in that tournament, but all of the participants played many non-tournament games with one another during the course of the event.

McDonnell -- De La Bourdonnais 1834: Index

I am working my way through all of the available games of Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835). Most of these were part of his six matches with Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795-1840). These matches were played at the Westminster Chess Club in London. William Greenwood Walker, club secretary, recorded the games and published them in A Selection of Games at Chess (London: 1836). Thanks to Walker, these matches became the first between chess masters for which we have a record of the moves.

The matches have come to be regarded as an unofficial World Championship and the beginning of modern chess history. Paul Morphy annotated some of the games for a chess column that he wrote for the New York Ledger in 1859-1860.

I annotated all 25 games of the first match without reference to engine analysis and with minimal reference to annotations by others. Now, I plan to work my way through the annotations of these games in Cary Utterberg, De la Bourdonnais versus McDonnell, 1835 (2005).

Utterberg offers a narrative of the historical milieu, a compendium of comments on the games by other chess writers, and his own analysis. Of particular interest, perhaps, is Utterberg's summation of the state of opening theory when the match took place. His analysis is deeper, more extensive, and better informed than mine.

This post offers links to my posts of the games in the matches between these two players..

McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais, First Match

Game 1: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1/2-1/2
Game 2: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1/2-1/2
Game 3: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1/2-1/2
"Three Fighting Draws"

Game 4: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1-0
"McDonnell Blunders"

Game 5: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1-0
"McDonnell Strikes Back"

Game 6: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 0-1
"McDonnell Takes the Lead"

Game 7: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"De La Bourdonnais Evens the Score"

Game 8: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1-0
Game 9: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"Two Losses"

Game 10: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1-0
"Small Errors"

Game 11: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"Losing Takes a Toll"

Game 12: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1-0
"Weakened King"

Game 13: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1/2-1/2
"Morning Coffee"

Game 14: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1834"

Game 15: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1-0
"That Pin of f7"

Game 16: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"Strong Knights"

Game 17: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1-0
"Mating Attack"

Game 18: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"Attack and Counterattack"

Game 19: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 0-1
"After a Long Drought ..."

Game 20: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"Materialism"

Game 21: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 0-1
"McDonnell's Cavalry"

Game 22: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"La Bourdonnais's Infantry"

Game 23: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 0-1
"Pawn Structure Chess"

Game 24: McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 0-1
"An Opening Disaster"

Game 25: La Bourdonnais -- McDonnell 1-0
"A Powerful Pawn"



This post will be updated ...

A Powerful Pawn

McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1834

Five months ago I began posting analysis of the games of the first match between Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) and Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795-1840). My analysis is unaided by computer analysis. The first post was "Three Fighting Draws," and each post contains a link to the next.

Today's post concerns game 25, the final game in the first of six matches between these two players. My analysis of game 24 was posted in "An Opening Disaster".

The match was played in the Westminster Chess Club, London. William Greenwood Walker, club secretary, recorded the games. This match is the earliest between masters for which the games are available. The match marks an early moment in the development of modern chess.

Although the games are uneven in quality and La Bourdonnais dominated the match, they remain instructive. Many are balanced struggles.

In game 25, La Bourdonnais played a version of the Bird Opening (that name would come later) that offers White minimal prospects. Nonetheless, a few small errors by McDonnell put him on the defensive. He then miscalculated the consequences of a series of exchanges. La Bourdonnais was able to grind out the technical win.

De Labourdonnais,Louis Charles Mahe -- McDonnell,Alexander [A03]
London m1 London (25), 1834

1.f4 d5 2.d4 c5 3.e3 e6 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c4

5.c3 is a better move. White's pawn structure would make it difficult for Black's pieces to find activity.

5...cxd4 6.exd4 dxc4 7.Bxc4

Black to move 

White's isolated queen pawn is a potential target, but also gives White temporary control of e5 and threatens the advance d4-d5. It is not easy for Black the exploit the open dark squares leading to White's king. A few checks are possible, but where do they lead?

7...Nf6 8.Nc3 Be7 9.0–0 0–0

Black's position is solid without weaknesses. White has more space. White's dark-squared bishop and Black's light-squared are restricted by their own pawns.

10.Kh1 a6 11.Be3

Overprotecting the weakened isolani.

11...b5 12.Bd3 Bb7

A nice square for the bishop.

13.Ne5

Black to move

13...Kh8 

I'm not sure that I like this move. Was Bxh7+ a credible threat? Was there another reason for the king to step aside?

13...Nd5 seems a reasonable alternative.

a) 14.Bd2 Ncb4

b) 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 15.Qf3 Nxe5 16.Qxd5 Bxd5 17.dxe5=

c) 14.Bxh7+? Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Nxd5 Qxd5 17.Rf3 f6–+

d) 14.Qe2 Ncb4

14.Bc2 Nb4 15.Bb3 Nbd5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Qe2

Black to move

17...f6

Although this move drives the knight off its outpost, it also weakens the e6 square. This move may have been a critical error. McDonnell must defend a difficult position for the rest of the game, although he is able to generate some threats.

17...Bh4 may have been worth considering. 18.Bxd5 Qxd5 19.Qf3 Qxf3 20.Nxf3.

18.Nf3 Qe8 19.Rae1

Building up pressure on e6.

19...Bd6 20.Bd2 Nxf4 21.Bxf4 Bxf4

White to move

22.Bxe6

Now the isolani is a passed pawn.

22.Qxe6 does not seem as strong. 22...Qh5 23.Qe2 Rae8 24.Qf2 Bxf3 25.gxf3.

22...Qh5

Black has threats against h2

23.g4

23.d5? Bxd5 24.Bxd5 Qxd5 leaves Black a pawn ahead.

23...Qh6 24.d5 Rae8

24...Bd6 25.Nd4 g6.

25.Qg2

25.a3 passing loses. 25...Bxd5-+.

25...Re7 26.Nd4 g6

26...Bc8 27.Nf5.

27.Nc6 Rc7 28.Re4

Black to move

28...g5

I want to blockade the pawn 28...Bd6 29.Qf2

Here 29.g5 seems to offer Black a draw 29...fxg5 30.Rxf8+ Qxf8 31.Qxg5 Qf1+ 32.Qg1 Qf3+ 33.Qg2 Qd1+.

29.Nd4 Rd8

Everything hinges upon the isolated, passed pawn.

30.Nf5 Qf8 31.Rd1 Rc5 32.Red4 Be5 33.R4d2 Rc4 34.Ne3 Rc7 35.Qf3 Bf4 36.Rd3 Qd6

36...Bd6 still looks good to me. 37.Nf5 Rc2 38.R3d2.

37.Nf5

Black to move

37...Qxe6?

A miscalculation

37...Qb6 might hold.

38.dxe6 Bxf3+ 39.Kg1

Black is ahead a piece temporarily, which must have been McDonnell's idea, but La Bourdonnais calculated deeper.

39...Rxd3 40.Rxd3 Rc8

Preventing checkmate

41.e7 Re8 42.Rxf3

Black to move

White's isolated pawn now restrains Black's rook.

42...Kg8

Material is equal, but cannot remain so.

43.Ra3

The a-pawn is a target.

43...Kf7 44.Rxa6 Rc8 45.b3 Be5 46.h3 b4

White to move

47.Kg2

White's king must join the action. Black has everything secure and prevents the advance of the e-pawn. But, Black's pieces cannot stray far. The bishop must guard d6, the rook must prevent White's rook from occupying the eighth rank.

47...Bf4 48.Kf3 Be5 49.Ke4 Bf4 50.Ra7

Freeing the knight for action.

50...Be5 51.Ng7!

Black to move

51...Re8

51...Kxg7 52.e8Q+ Kh6 53.Qxc8.
51...Bf4 52.e8Q#.

52.Nxe8 Kxe8 53.Kf5 Kf7 54.Rb7 1-0

The bishop cannot guard b4 and f6.

La Bourdonnais wins the first match with 16 wins, 5 losses, and 4 draws.

Problems with Knights

These six chess problems all feature knights in a critical role. They were assembled as a problem solving contest for the Black Knight's Joust, a youth chess tournament that I am directing today. All entries with six correct answers submitted before the start of the last round become eligible to win a prize.

At the King's Clash two weeks ago, the solution to all six problems was the move of a king. One entry had six correct answers. The young player won a book.

The knight's move may not be the first in the winning combination. It is often the last.

The first two are from Gioachino Greco, c.1623. Number three is based on one in several problem books. Number four come from a game won by Lionel Kieseritzky in 1842. The fifth, from Horwitz--Bledow (1837), contains a common idea that can arise in the opening. Problem number six is from the 21st match game between Louis-Charles de la Bourdonnais and Alexander McDonnell (1834).


Black moves first

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Des Temps

Louis Charles de la Bourdonnais published Nouveau Traité du jeu des Échecs (1833) the year before his visit to London. The text offers what must be one of the earliest formulations of the element of time as a principle of strategy.

Dès le commencement d'une partie, l'on ne saurait trop recommander aux amateurs de s'attacher surtout à gagner des temps; c'est en gagnant des temps que l'on parvient, soit à renfermer les pièces de l'adversaire qui vous laissent alors un champ libre pour former et suivre une attaque, soit à avancer ses pions de manière à arriver le premier à dame. (3-4)

My ability to read French is nonexistent, but happily Cary Utterberg has translated this paragraph in his excellent De la Bourdonnais versus McDonnell, 1834 (2005).

At the start of a game, players should pay particular attention to the use of tempi; for by gaining time the opponent's pieces may be contained, leaving you a free field on which to develop and carry out an attack, or to work toward advancing a pawn to its queening square. (18)

An Opening Disaster

McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1834

In the first and longest of the six matches between Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) and Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795-1840), White fared poorly. Game 24 was Black's seventh victory in a row as both players stumbled with the White pieces.

Alexander McDonnell was the victim in the oldest recorded instance of the Evans Gambit. He started this game with Evans's signature 3.b4, but then offered his own innovation. La Bourdonnais found the refutation and White was effectively lost by move ten.

McDonnell fared worse with White than his French adversary, however, winning a single game with the White pieces, the second decisive game of the match. La Bourdonnais had White through the first four games and was in a slightly worse position through each of the three draws that began the match. Nonetheless, he managed to win seven games with the White pieces through the course of 25 games.

My series on this match begins with "Three Fighting Draws" and then continues with a separate post for each game. Each post links to both the preceing and the following one. Game 23 was posted in "Pawn Structure Chess".

McDonnell,Alexander -- De Labourdonnais,Louis Charles Mahe [C23]
London m1 London (24), 1834

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.b4 Bxb4 4.f4

Black to move

This shift from the Evans Gambit to something akin to the King's Gambit cannot be good.

4...d5 5.exd5

5.Bxd5 seems worse. 5...Nf6.

5...e4

This pawn becomes a problem for White. La Bourdonnais seems to have found the essential refutation. I have found this position only in one other game, Mongredien -- Morphy 1859. Morphy, however, managed only a draw.

6.Ne2 Nf6 7.0–0

Mongredien played 7.c3, probably White's only hope for equality.

7...0–0 8.Nbc3

8.Bb2

8...c6!

This move threatens Qb6, and also helps Black gain control of d5.

8...Bg4 is less effective 9.Qe1 Black's pins on the White knights offer no prospects of advantage.

9.dxc6 Nxc6

White to move

Black's pieces seem better posted.

10.Kh1 Bg4

Black has a decisive advantage, but there is some work necessary to achieve the victory. McDonnell has proven himself a stubborn opponent who can generate counterplay even in terrible positions.

11.Qe1

11.Bb2 might have been a good try. 11...Rc8 White's light-squared bishop is an important defensive piece and is vulnerable to attack. (11...e3? 12.dxe3 and White gains a pawn.) 12.Qe1 Na5 13.Bb5 (13.Bb3 Bxe2 14.Nxe2 Bxd2 15.Qd1 Ng4) 13...a6 14.Ba4 Nc4.

11...e3!

11...Rc8!?

12.dxe3

12.a3 may be better 12...Ba5 (12...exd2 13.Bxd2) 13.dxe3 Ne4 14.Bb2 Qb6 15.Rb1 Qxe3.

12...Bxe2 13.Bxe2 Ne4

White to move

White is losing a piece.

14.Bb2 Qa5

Simply piling more pieces on the pinned knight.

15.Bd3 Bxc3 16.Bxc3 Nxc3

16...Qxc3? 17.Bxe4

17.Qh4

With a hopelessly lost position, White can at least threaten checkmate.

17...f5 18.Rf3 Ne4 19.Rh3

Black to move

There is no checkmate threat here, but perhaps White can draw if Black becomes careless.

19...h6

19...Rad8? 20.Qxh7+ Kf7 21.Bc4+ Kf6 22.Qh4+ Kg6 23.Qh7+ Kf6 24.Qh4+=.

20.Rf1 Qc5 21.Qh5

Threatening the knight on e4.

21...Qd6 22.g4 Rae8 23.Bc4+ Kh7

White to move

24.g5

24.gxf5!? Nd2 (24...Nf6?? 25.Qg6+ Kh8 26.Rxh6+ gxh6 27.Rg1 Rg8 28.Qxh6+ Nh7 29.Rxg8+ Rxg8 30.Qxd6).

24...Na5 25.gxh6 g6

Putting an end to White's threats.

26.Qe2 Nxc4 27.Qxc4 Nd2 28.Qc3

Yet another checkmate threat.

Black to move

28...Qc6+

And White's little games are finished.

28...Nxf1 29.Qg7#.

29.Qxc6 bxc6 30.Rd1 Rd8 0–1


McDonnell would lose with Black in the final game of the first match. See "A Powerful Pawn".

Pawn Structure Chess

McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1834

Readers may find a note of irony in my reasons for the gap of time between this post and the previous one concerning the first match between Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) and Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795-1840). At the end of June, I started posting analysis of the games in this historic match between the top British player and the champion of France (see "Three Fighting Draws"). I kept up these posts with some regularity through game 22, but then abrubtly stopped in mid-September with three games remaining (see "La Bourdonnais's Infantry").

Teaching history cuts into my time for chess.

This neglect relates to McDonnell's career. At the time of the match McDonnell was secretary to the Committee of West Indian Merchants. This business group was involved in lucrative trans-Atlantic business ventures. I have been studying some of the broader contexts of these ventures.

I teach occasional college history classes for adult students. These classes are brief (six weeks) and quite intense in their focus. The past few weeks, I have been occupied with a new course--relatively new in the worlds of academia and my university and wholly new to me. It is called Atlantic World and covers history of four continents through three centuries. My academic training was focused on North America so I had much to learn preparing for this class.

A central facet of the Atlantic world was the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the production of sugar in the New World. Britain ended its participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1807 and abolished slavery in 1833. The time of McDonnell's work in West Indian business was a time of dramatic change.

Now that the end of my class draws near, I have more time for study of chess.

McDonnell prevailed in game 23, which was a battle centered on isolated pawns.

De Labourdonnais,Louis Charles Mahe -- McDonnell,Alexander [D00]
London m1 London (23), 1834

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.e3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 

In 2007, Vladimir Kramnik would play  5.c3.

5...Bxf3

Black creates a minor piece imbalance.

5...e6 was an alternative worth considering.

6.Bxf3 e6

White to move

7.c4

7.0–0 Nf6 8.c3 Be7 9.Nd2 0–0 10.Qb3 Qb6 11.Qxb6 axb6  and White won in 60 moves in Stoletov,G (2246) -- Kovalev,A (1955), Konakovo 2011.

7...Nf6 

From this pawn structure, an isolated queen pawn is common.

8.Nc3 cxd4 9.exd4 dxc4

White has an IQP; Black is a pawn ahead. Black's minor piece exchange deflected White's light-squared bishop from the f1–a6 diagonal.

10.0–0 Be7 11.Bxc6+

White eliminates the minor piece imbalance in order to win back the pawn.

11...bxc6 12.Qa4 0–0 13.Qxc4 

13.Qxc6 does not seem as good. 13...Rc8 14.Qa4 Qb6.

13...Rc8

It seems to me that White's IQP and Black's two isolated pawns should tip the balance slightly in White's favor.

14.a3 Bd6 15.Bg3

15.Bxd6 seems better 15...Qxd6 16.Qc5.
15.Bg5? is worse. 15...Bxh2+ 16.Kxh2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1 Qxg5.

15...Bxg3

White to move

16.fxg3?!

This move increases the mobility of the rook, but also places a burden upon the isolated d-pawn. This move also weakens the e3 square. Looking back from the conclusion of the game makes this move seem the first significant error.

I prefer 16.hxg3. But, even this move offers Black some opportunities. Perhaps White's troubles began on the previous move.

16...Nd5 17.Rae1

Guarding e3

17...Qg5

Increasing pressure on e3.

18.Ne4

Driving the queen back.

18...Qe7 19.b4?!

Another plan might have been 19.Nc5 blockading the isolated c-pawn. White could then place his queenside pawns on b3 and a4. However, Black might then build up pressure on d4. 19...Nb6 20.Qa6 Rfd8 21.Rd1 Rd5 22.Rd2 Rcd8 23.Rfd1 e5! 24.Qe2.

19...a5

Any advantage that White might have realized with fewer isolated pawns will be gone soon.

20.Nc5 axb4 21.axb4 Rb8

White's queen may be compelled to defend White's two isolated pawns, although only one is attacked at present.

White to move

22.Na6?

This move seems to fail tactically.

22.Rb1 Rb5 23.Nd3 Qb7.

22...Rb6 23.b5 Qa3

Black again puts pressure on e3

24.Qc5

24.Ra1 Qe3+ 25.Kh1 cxb5 26.Qc5 b4 and White will need to give up a piece to stop Black's b-pawn.

24...Qxc5 25.Nxc5 Rxb5 

White to move

26.Nd7

26.Rc1 Rd8 27.Rfd1 Ne3 28.Rd3 Nf5 29.Nb3 Rbd5 30.Rxc6 Kf8 31.Rc4 e5 and Black should win.

26...Rc8 27.Ne5 Rb7 28.Rc1 Rbc7 29.Rc5

29.Nd3 c5 30.dxc5.

29...f6 30.Nc4 Kf8

White to move

31.Ra1

La Bourdonnais aims to collect Black's c-pawn. This plan is doomed.

31.Nd6 Rb8 32.Ne4.

31...Ke7 32.Ra6 Nb4 33.Ra4 Rb8! 34.Na5

Black to move

This position is useful for instructing elementary chess students.

34...Nd3

White is losing material due to the checkmate threat. The tactic combines fork and discovery. A line is opened for the rook while the knight forks rook and the king's escape square.

35.Kf1

35.Rc3 Rb1+ and checkmate next move.

35...Nxc5 36.dxc5 Rb5 0–1

McDonnell's play against pawn weaknesses gave him the win. In the next game, McDonnell's experiement with the Evan's Gambit produced "An Opening Disaster".

La Bourdonnais's Infantry

McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1834

In game 21 of their first match, Alexander McDonnell's knights prevailed (see "McDonnell's Cavalry"). In the next game,Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais gave a demonstration of principles set down eighty-five years earlier in L’analyze des échecs (1849) by François-André Danican Philidor. His pawns decided the battle.

Occasionally, chess writers assert that Philidor's ideas concerning pawns were poorly understood until revived by Wilhelm Steinitz. For example, Dražen Marović offers this historical note in Understanding Pawn Play in Chess (2000).

Not many players followed in Philidor's footsteps. One must advance well into the next century to see another great player, Howard Staunton, exploring such niceties as the restrained engagement of pawns, play against doubled pawns or blockade. (5)

Similarly, in My Great Predecessors (2003) Garry Kasparov suggests that Philidor "was too far ahead of his time: no one was able to play successfully in the manner proposed by him" (13). He observes that La Bourdonnais had studied Philidor's text, but did not adopt his principles.

Although he had studied Philidor's L'Analyse, he nevertheless played in a different, intuitive attacking style, in keeping with his own temperament. (14)

Although we do not see the defensive technique against pawns that Marović asserts would emerge a decade later with Staunton, La Bourdonnais does offer several games that demonstrate the offensive power of pawns. Did he use his intuition, as Kasparov seems to suggest, to see through to the end in the present game? Or, did he calculate?

La Bourdonnais had already won the first match decisively before this game was played. Nonetheless, the players continued until twenty-one decisive games had been played.

Excluding draws, La Bourdonnais leads 13-4. The French player's win in game 22 makes it the eighteenth decisive game.

Beginning with the post, "Three Fighting Draws," I have been going through all of the games in this match. I offer my analysis without reference to engine evaluations.

McDonnell,Alexander -- De Labourdonnais,Louis Charles Mahe [C33]
London m1 London (22), 1834

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 g5 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.d4 d6 

White to move

7.Nd5

7.Nf3 White could drive the queen back with 7...Qh5 8.h4 h6 9.Kg1 Qg6.

7...Kd8 8.Be2 Nc6 9.e5

Both kings are in the center

9...Nge7 10.Nc3

This retreat gives up valuable time

10.Nxe7 Nxe7 11.Nf3 Qh5 12.h4.

10...Nf5

I think that Black has a clear advantage. White lacks compensation for the sacrificed pawn.

11.Nf3 Qh6 12.Ne4 f6

White to move

13.exf6

13.e6 is interesting 13...Nce7 14.d5 c6.

13...Bxf6 14.g4

Is this move a simple error that loses two more pawns, or is it a clever sacrifice that releases White's pieces from their immobility?

14.Nxf6 Ng3+ (14...Qxf6 is simpler 15.c3) 15.Kg1 Nxe2+ 16.Qxe2 Qxf6 and White has little to show for the sacrificed pawn.

14...Nfxd4 15.Kg2

15.Nxd4? Qh3+ 16.Kf2 Bxd4+ with a strong attack for Black.

15...Bxg4 16.h4

16.Nxd4? Qh3+ 17.Kf2 Bxd4+ and Black's attack must be decisive.

16...Bxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Nxf3 18.Qxf3 Ne5 19.Qb3

Black to move

Threatening the b7 pawn and also Qe6.

19...Qg6

19...b6 20.Qe6 Rf8 21.hxg5 and White gets a good game.

20.Qxb7 Rc8 21.Bd2

White is prepared to bring his queenside rook into play, but the vulnerability of his king is significant.

21.h5 was worth considering 21...Qf5 22.Nxf6 Qxf6 23.Bd2.

21...gxh4+! 22.Kf1 Rg8

White to move

23.Nxd6!

Defending the crucial g2 square and also opening the Black king to attack. McDonnell is able to generate counterplay. However, as Black's king eventually finds security, White's decisive weaknesses on the kingside prove fatal.

23...cxd6 24.Ba5+ Ke8 25.Qxc8+

White has recovered all of the sacrificed material.

25...Kf7 26.Qb7+ Be7 27.Qd5+ Kf8

White to move

28.Rd1

28.Qa8+ does not solve White's problems. 28...Kg7 29.Qd5 f3 30.Rh2 Kh8.

28...f3 29.Rd2

29.Ke1 Qg2

29...h3 30.Qa8+ Kg7 31.Qxa7

Black to move

31...Qg2+!!

La Bourdonnais had to be certain that his king would find security from the checks. The queen sacrifice is temporary, and in fact nets a rook. But the bishop is sacrificed by this move, leaving Black's king exposed.

32.Rxg2+ fxg2+ 33.Kg1 Nf3+! 

33...Kf7 34.Qf2+ Bf6 35.Rh2 Ng4 36.Qf4 and White appears to hold.

34.Kf2 gxh1Q 35.Qxe7+ Kh6

White to move

36.Qxd6+

36.Bd2+ fails 36...Ng5

     36...Nxd2? seems to offer White a draw. 37.Qh4+ Kg7 38.Qg5+ Kf8 39.Qf6+ Ke8 40.Qe6+

37.Qf6+ Kh5 and White has run out of checks.

36...Kh5 37.Qd5+ Rg5 38.Qf7+ Kg4 39.Qc4+

Black to move

39...Nd4! 40.Qxd4+ Kh5 41.Bb6 Qh2+ 42.Ke1 Re5+ 43.Kd1 Qe2+ 44.Kc1

Black to move

44...Qe1+ 45.Qd1+ Qxd1+ 46.Kxd1 h2 0–1

Although La Bourdonnais reached a clear advantage from the opening, McDonnell found play for his pieces and gave us an exciting game. La Bourdonnais's belief in the power of his pawns guided his intuition. Or, perhaps, he demonstrated tremendous powers of calculation when the White queen started her assault.

McDonnell will reveal weaknesses in La Bourdonnais's pawns in the next game (see "Pawn Structure Chess").

McDonnell's Cavalry

McDonnell -- La Bourdonnais 1834

In the twenty-first game of their first match, Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais castled queenside and launched a kingside assault with pawns and heavy pieces. Alexander McDonnell responded with a thrust of his a-pawn and fine piece play in the center. La Bourdonnais, playing White, genereated clear checkmate threats, but McDonnell parried these. His a-pawn and knights proved stronger than the French player's heavy pieces.

I am annotating all of the games of this match without reference to engine evaluations. My series on this match began with "Three Fighting Draws". Game 20 is discussed in "Materialism".

De Labourdonnais,Louis Charles Mahe -- McDonnell,Alexander [C24]
London m1 London (21), 1834

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qe2 Nf6 4.d3 Nc6 5.c3

This move is an improvement over game 19 (see "After a Long Drought ...").

5...Ne7 6.f4

LaBourdonnais opts for some sort of deferred King's Gambit. As there are no other games in the database with this position, the statistics are 100% in favor of Black.

6...exf4 7.d4 Bb6 8.Bxf4

Black to move

White has a strong center, and yet I'm tempted to recall a rule that Emanuel Lasker would lay down sixty years after this game: "bring out your knights before developing the bishops" (see "Lasker's Rules").

8...d6 9.Bd3

Is the e4 pawn threatened somehow?

I like 9.Nf3.

9...Ng6 10.Be3

White occupies more space on the chessboard. On the other hand, Black's pieces do not lack mobility. The knights are well placed on the kingside. White's central pawns are somewhat offset by the half-open f-file. White's king could prove to be vulnerable on g1.

10.Bg5 is quickly refuted. 10...h6 11.Be3.

10...0–0 11.h3 

Black had control of g4. White challenges this domination. However, contesting this square has the consequence of creating vulnerabilities on the dark squares.

11.Nf3 might have been better. 11...Bg4 12.0–0.

11...Re8 12.Nd2 Qe7 

White to move

Now Black has three attackers on e4, which outnumber the two defenders. But, with the Black queen in front of the rook, the pawn remains safe for now. Minor pieces defend a pawn attacked by heavy pieces. Nf6-d5-f4 could be a threat.

13.0–0–0 c5

McDonnell disrupts White's center.

13...Nd5 does not seem as good. 14.exd5 Qxe3 15.Qxe3 Rxe3 16.Bxg6 hxg6 and the game seems equal.

14.Kb1 cxd4 15.cxd4 a5! 

Both players thrust their pawns at the the enemy monarch, but Black's piece play in the center will prevail.

16.Ngf3 Bd7 17.g4 h6 18.Rdg1

White's plan is clear.

18...a4

White to move

19.g5?

19.a3 would prevent the Black pawn occupying this square.
19.Nc4 also guards a3 as well as attacking the dark-squared bishop. 19...Ba5.

Perhaps La Bourdonnais underestmated the power of a Black pawn ensconced on a3. Or, perhaps, he underestimated Black's tatical resources for bringing other pieces to bear on the White king. With Black's knights in front of their king, it is not obvious that they will play a decisive role in the attack on the White king.

19...hxg5 20.Bxg5 a3 21.b3

21.Nc4 may have been worth considering.

21...Bc6 22.Rg4 Ba5 23.h4 Bxd2 24.Nxd2

Black to move 

24...Ra5! 25.h5 Rxg5

Black seeks to eliminate both White bishops, after which the White king will be defenseless. McDonnell's play in this game merits study.

26.Rxg5 Nf4 27.Qf3 Nxd3

White to move

28.d5

28.Qxd3 merits attention 28...Nxe4 and 29.Rgg1 seems best.
   If 29.d5, then 29...Nxd2+ 30.Qxd2 Qe4+ with a decisive gain of material for Black.
   If 29.Rg4, then 29...Nf2 is unpleasant.
Play might continue 29...Nf2 30.Qg3 Be4+ 31.Ka1
   (31.Nxe4 loses quickly 31...Qxe4+ 32.Ka1 Qxd4+ 33.Kb1 Qb2#)
31...Qf6 and Black seems better.

28...Nxd5!

This move appears decisive.

29.Rhg1

29.exd5 fails smply to 29...Qxg5.
29.Rxd5 looked good to me at first, but Black seems to have a decisive attack after 29...Bxd5 30.exd5 Qe5 31.Nc4 Qd4 32.Rf1 f6.

29...Nc3+ 30.Ka1

30.Kc2 is an interesting effort 30...Nxe4 31.Rxg7+ Kh8 32.Qf5 Nb4+ 33.Kc1 Nf6 and the threat of Qe1+ with checkmate to follow.

30...Bxe4 31.Rxg7+ Kh8 32.Qg3

White threatens checkmate.

Black to move

32...Bg6

But Black's checkmate threat appears more serious.

33.hxg6

Can White save the game? 33.Rxg6 Qe1+ 34.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 35.Qxe1 Nxe1 ends as in the game.

33...Qe1+ 34.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 35.Qxe1 Nxe1 36.Rh7+ Kg8 37.gxf7+ Kxh7 38.f8N+ Kh6 39.Nb1 Nc2# 0–1

This game belongs on the list of best games from the first match. I think that it is McDonnell's best game so far. Although La Bourdonnais made a few errors, his play was not substandard.

See "La Bourdonnais's Infantry" for the next game.