Alexander McDonnell vs Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais (1834)

Alexander McDonnell vs Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais
London 1834 · Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack (B21) · 0-1

[Event "London"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "1834.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "28"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Alexander McDonnell"]
[Black "La Bourdonnais"]
[ECO "B21"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "88"]

1. e4 {Notes by Morphy} c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 4. c3 d5 5. e5
f6 6. Na3 Nh6 7. Nc2 Qb6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 Bb4+ 10. Kf2 Bd7
11. h4 {For comments on the opening we refer the reader to the
games previously published in the LEDGER. } fxe5 12. fxe5 O-O
13. Kg3 {White here declines to exchange his queen's bishop
for Black's king's knight, and considering the winning
position he very soon obtains, we must pronounce this line of
play adopted instead, to have been the correct one. } Nf5+
14. Kh3 Be7 15. Bd3 Qd8 16. g4 {Very well played.} Nxh4 {An
injudicious capture, courted by his adversary, and which ought
to have resulted in Black's defeat. 16...Nh6 would have been
preferable, though still leaving the advantage with the first
player. } 17. Nxh4 Bxh4 18. g5 Bxg5 19. Qh5 {White has now
acquired a winning position. } Bh6 {If 19...h6 20.Rg1 (best)
Bxc1 21.Rxg7+ Kxg7 22.Qg6+ Kh8 23.Qh7 mate. Black may, of
course, vary his 19th move but it will be found that in no
case, can defeat be averted. } 20. Bxh6 {M'Donnell does not
here select the best move. 20.Rg1 was the coupe just, and must
have speedily forced the game. Suppose 20.Rg1 Kh8 (best)
21.Rxg7 Kxg7 (21...Rf3+ 22.Kg2 (best) Rxd3 23.Qxh6, winning
easily) Mates in four moves.} gxh6 21. Rag1+ Kh8 22. Qxh6
{White should have continued thus 22.Bxh7 Qe7 (best) 23.Bd3,
and win} Qe7 23. Rg3 {Again , 23.Bxh7 was the correct
play. 23.Bxh7 Qxh7 (23...Rf3+ 24.Kg2 winning) 24.Qxh7+ Kxh7
25.Rg3, and wins at once. } Rg8 24. Qf6+ {M'donnell might even
now have captured the rook's pawn with bishop, though not with
the same effect as on the preceeding moves. The check here
given was one of the worst moves at his disposal; it enables
Black at once to relieve himself from all embarrassment by an
exchange of queens. } Qxf6 25. exf6 e5+ 26. Kg2 e4 27. Be2
Rxg3+ 28. Kxg3 Rg8+ 29. Kh4 Rg2 30. Rf1 Kg8 {White, the reader
need hardly be told, would immediately queen his advanced
pawn, where his antagonist to capture the bishop. } 31. Bd1
Be6 32. b4 a6 33. a4 Rh2+ 34. Kg5 b5 35. axb5 axb5 36. Bh5
{This is mere desperation; the game is now irretrievably
lost.} Rxc2 37. Ra1 Nd8 38. Ra7 e3 39. Rg7+ Kf8 40. Kh6 Nf7+
41. Bxf7 Bxf7 42. Rg3 Rh2+ 43. Kg5 e2 44. Re3 Bh5 0-1

To move:

Last move:

Annotations by Paul Morphy. [30 more games annotated by Morphy]

explore this opening	find similar games	85 more McDonnell/La Bourdonnais games
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Sep-30-04		iron maiden: And we thought Tripoli was a blunderfest...

Aug-02-06		Knight13: I think White lost his patience and didn't try to find the best moves in the winning position.

Aug-02-06		Rocafella: Cheers captain obvious :)

Aug-03-06		Knight13: Cheers captain cryptic :)

Sep-24-07		nimh: Rybka 2.4 mp, AMD X2 2.01GHz, 10 min per move, threshold 0.25. McDonnell 9 mistakes: 10.Kf2 -0.53 (10.Nxb4 0.26) 11.h4 -0.77 (11.Nxb4 -0.15) 19.Qh5 -0.69 (19.Bxh7+ 0.00) 22.Qxh6 1.11 (22.Bxh7 10.61) 23.Rg3 0.06 (23.Bxh7 7.78) 24.Qf6+ -1.80 (24.Bxh7 0.06) 36.Bh5 -5.35 (36.Ne3 -1.75) 39.Rg7+ -6.67 (39.Re7 -4.56) 40.Kh6 -32.43 (40.Re7 -6.90) De La Bourdonnais 8 mistakes: 7...Qb6 -0.04 (7...fxe5 -0.36) 9...Bb4+ 0.26 (9...Be7 -0.24) 10...Bd7 -0.15 (10...Be7 -0.53) 11...fxe5 -0.30 (11...Be7 -0.77) 15...Qd8 0.00 (15...Kh8 -0.31) 19...Bh6 3.59 (19...h6 -0.69) 20...gxh6 11.21 (20...Be8 3.58) 22...Qe7 7.78 (22...Rf7 1.11)

Oct-11-07		nimh: Correction, new threshold 0.33. McDonnell 9 mistakes: 10.Kf2 -0.53 (10.Nxb4 0.26) 11.h4 -0.77 (11.Nxb4 -0.15) 19.Qh5 -0.69 (19.Bxh7+ 0.00) 22.Qxh6 1.11 (22.Bxh7 10.61) 23.Rg3 0.06 (23.Bxh7 7.78) 24.Qf6+ -1.80 (24.Bxh7 0.06) 36.Bh5 -5.35 (36.Ne3 -1.75) 39.Rg7+ -6.67 (39.Re7 -4.56) 40.Kh6 -32.43 (40.Re7 -6.90) De La Bourdonnais 6 mistakes: 9...Bb4+ 0.26 (9...Be7 -0.24) 10...Bd7 -0.15 (10...Be7 -0.53) 11...fxe5 -0.30 (11...Be7 -0.77) 19...Bh6 3.59 (19...h6 -0.69) 20...gxh6 11.21 (20...Be8 3.58) 22...Qe7 7.78 (22...Rf7 1.11)

May-04-09		sirfraix: After 19. Qh5 Morphy says: ▼ White has now acquired a winning position. But the variation explained by him: 19...h6 20.Rg1 (best) Bxc1 ?? overlooks the move 20... Be8! that neutralizes the white attack. Objectively 19. Bxh7+ looks better, like in nimh analysis.

Aug-11-10		Blunderdome: Yes -- Fritz and Morphy disagree on several points here.

Feb-02-12		Knight13: <Yes -- Fritz and Morphy disagree on several points here.> And unlike people who would rather let the computer do the thinking for them instead of doing it themselves, Morphy was actually very good in his assessment of the positions and ideas needed for White to win.

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