- Alexandre Deschapelles
Infobox chess player
playername =Alexandre Deschapelles
birthname =Alexandre Louis Honore Lebreton Deschapelles
country = FRA
datebirth = birth date|1780|3|7
placebirth =France
datedeath = 1847 (aged ~67)
placedeath =
title =
worldchampion = c1800-c1820 (Unofficial)
womensworldchampion =
rating =
peakrating =Alexandre Deschapelles (
March 7 ,1780 –1847) was a Frenchchess player who, between the death ofPhilidor and the arrival ofLouis de la Bourdonnais , was probably the strongest player in the world. He was considered the unofficial world champion from about 1800-1820.A soldier in
Napoleon 's army, he lost his right hand in battle and was thereafter nicknamed "Manchot" (one-armed). He also received a massive sabre-wound down the entire length of his face, which caused thePhrenology enthusiasts of his era to suggest "cranial sabre-wounds" were responsible for his amazing chess skill.Deschapelles had an incredible aptitude for games. Three months after learning the moves of Polish Draughts, he defeated the French champion of that game, and claimed to have learned all of his chess knowledge in just three days.
About 1820 he accepted
Louis de la Bourdonnais as a student, and following defeats toJohn Cochrane and William Lewis two years later, Deschapelles switched to playingWhist (theDeschapelles coup inContract Bridge is named after him). Returning to chess competition in the mid 1830s, Deschapelles continued his trademark of always giving his opponents "odds" (seechess handicap ).Deschapelles reportedly once requested a French waiter to ask another patron if they would play a game for stakes, to which the opponent stated "My religion forbids me to play for money", Deschapelles replied "Mine forbids absurdity".
External links
*chessgames player|id=79773
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