Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795 – December 1840) was a French
chess master
A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...
, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.
Early life
La Bourdonnais was born on the island of
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
in the Indian Ocean in 1795. He was the grandson of
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais (11 February 169910 November 1753) was a French naval officer and colonial administrator, in the service of the French East India Company.
Biography
La Bourdonnais entered the service of the Fren ...
. He learned chess in 1814 and began to take the game seriously in 1818, regularly playing at the
Café de la Régence
The Café de la Régence in Paris was an important European centre of chess in the 18th and 19th centuries. All important chess masters of the time played there.
The Café's masters included, but are not limited to:
* Paul Morphy
* François- ...
. He took lessons from
Jacques François Mouret
Jacques François Mouret (1780–1837) was a French chess master of the early 19th century who became chess tutor of the future Louis Philippe I and was one of the most successfulThe Oxford Companion to Chess - David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld (199 ...
, his first teacher, and within two years he became one of the best players of the ''Café''.
Chess career
La Bourdonnais was forced to earn his living as a professional chess player after squandering his fortune on ill-advised land deals. He played in an era before a
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013.
The first event recognized as a world championship was the World Chess ...
was established, but was considered to be perhaps the strongest player in the world from 1821 — when he became able to beat his chess teacher
Alexandre Deschapelles
Alexandre Deschapelles (March 7, 1780 in Ville-d'Avray near VersaillesOctober 27, 1847 in Paris) was a French chess player who, between the death of François-André Danican Philidor and the rise of Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, was prob ...
— until his death in 1840. The most famous match series in that time was the
series against Alexander McDonnell in 1834. These matches of 85 games were analyzed by Kasparov in his book ''
My Great Predecessors
''My Great Predecessors'' is a series of chess books written by former World Chess Champion, World Champion Garry Kasparov et al. The five volumes in the ''My Great Predecessors'' series are about the players who preceded Kasparov in being offici ...
''.
Death
He died penniless in London on December 13, 1840, having been forced to sell all his possessions, including his clothes, to satisfy his creditors.
George Walker George Walker may refer to:
Arts and letters
* George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer
*George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer
* George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Co ...
arranged his burial a stone's throw from his old rival
Alexander McDonnell at London's
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...
.
Notable games
Alexander McDonnell vs. Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, 16, London 1834, Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Open (B32), 0–1A game demonstrating the strength of pawns. Its end position is one of the most surprising in the history of chess.
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais vs. Alexander MacDonnell, 3, London 1834, Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation (D20), 1–0La Bourdonnais punishes McDonnell's premature attack.
See also
*
List of chess games
This is a list of notable chess games sorted chronologically.
pre-1700
* 1475: Castellví– Vinyoles, Valencia 1475. The first documented chess game played with the modern queen and bishop moves; the moves were described in the poem Scachs ...
*
McDonnell versus De La Bourdonnais, Match 4 (16), London 1834
The sixteenth chess game in the fourth match between Alexander McDonnell and Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais played in London in 1834 is famous for demonstrating the power of a mobile central block of pawns. Its final position is one of the ...
Notes
References
*''World chess champions'' by
Edward G. Winter
Edward Winter (born 1955) is an English chess journalist, archivist, historian, collector and author. He writes a regular column on chess history, ''Chess Notes.''
''Chess Notes''
''Chess Notes'' started as a bimonthly periodical, and was describ ...
, editor. 1981
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Bourdonnais, Louis De
1795 births
1840 deaths
19th-century chess players
Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery
French chess players
French expatriates in England
People of French descent from Réunion
Deaths from edema