Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais

Infobox chess player
playername = Louis de La Bourdonnais


birthname = Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais
country = FRA
datebirth = 1795
placebirth = France
datedeath = 1840 (aged 44 or 45)
placedeath =
title =
worldchampion = 1821-1840 (Unofficial)
womensworldchampion =
rating =
peakrating =

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 Chess 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.

He died penniless in London in 1840, having been forced to sell all of his possessions, including his clothes, to satisfy his creditors. Coincidentally, he was buried just a stone's throw away from his old rival Alexander McDonnell in London's Kensal Green Cemetery. [cite book
last =Walker
first =George
authorlink =George Walker (chess)
coauthors =
title =Chess and Chess-Players
publisher =C. J. Skeet
date =1850
location =London
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = ]

He was the grandson of Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais.

Notable chess games

{|
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8 | | | |bd| | |rd|kd|= 7 | | | |pl| | |pd|pd|= 6 | | | | | | | | |= 5 |pd| | | | | | | |= 4 | | | | | | | | |= 3 | | |ql| | | | | |= 2 |pl| | |pd|pd|pd|pl|pl|= 1 | | | |rl| | | |kl|= a b c d e f g h
The end position of the game MacDonnell-La Bourdonnais, London 1834 after the Black move 37. ... e2.
* [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1001165 Alexander MacDonnell vs Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, 16, London 1834, Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Open (B32), 0-1] A game demonstrating the strength of pawns. Its end position is one of the most surprising in the history of chess.
* [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1001140 Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais vs Alexander MacDonnell, 3, London 1834, Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation (D20), 1-0] La Bourdonnais punishes MacDonnell's too early attack.

References

*"World chess champions" by Edward G. Winter, editor. 19981 ISBN 0-08-024094-1

External links

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