STEINITZ (Anderssen's dominance after Morphy is debatable; for all intents and purposes, Steinitz and Zukertort were the two top players in the world until the official unification match)

Regarding Staunton: Yes, he was a promotional genius and organizer, but he holds wins over Harrwitz, Horwitz, and (most importantly) Saint-Amant, who was considered to be the French champion. He also played numerous games (most of which he won, as I recall) against Cochrane--another top chess player. He lost the 1851 tournament, but this is partly attributable to the fact that he was simultaneously trying to organize it. I think that this must have had some effect on his playing strength.

The Chess Note:
http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

Computer analysis shows that La Bourdonnais and McDonnell were by far more accurate players than Philidor.

Yes, I believed this was mentioned somewhere in the movie Brokeback Mountain.

Every time i play through one of their games now, i will be picturing Labourdonnais at the board and be hoping he wins.

I wonder if you wrote out his name on a piece of paper, would it be taller than him?

sneaky pete: De La Bourdonnais also composed problems. This one was published in Le Palamède, 1837:

click for larger view

# in 7

Source: David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld, "Oxford Companion to Chess", 2nd edition, OUP, 1992

<What makes this all the more impressive is the fact that de la Bourdonnais, once wealthy (he and his English wife lived in a chateau at St Malo with, reportedly, five servants and two carriages), had lost his fortune (how this happened has never been made clear) and was now earning a living from chess and chess alone. A man that loved to talk and laugh, he had a tendency to swear horrible oaths (in French) of horror and frustration when he was losing. One reason for this might have been the fact that, while de la Bourdonnais tended to move quickly, McDonnell often took 1 to 2 hours for a SINGLE move! That’s right, the chess clock hadn’t been invented at that time and a player could sit there all day and think about what he intended to do! On the other hand, McDonnell’s long thinks allowed de la Bourdonnais the time to go to another room and play games for money with anyone who wished to place the bet. JUST IMAGINE: you’re playing a serious game against a man who claims he’s the world’s best (McDonnell), you make your moves quickly while he thinks forever, and you play dozens of quick games for cash at the same time as you are playing an unofficial World Championship match game! Then, to top it all off, you crush him (and everyone else you play) like a bug. Now THAT is domination!>

vonKrolock: In 1840, in the rooms of the Cercle des Echecs , Rue Menars, Paris, Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais (or 'Labourdonnais') interviewed an old chess-player, Barneville, or <"le Chevalier de Barneville">. From his memories, he received and from Philidor, but, in the other hand, with Jean Jacques Rousseau he played giving odds!

Méry: quote<"-Il était donc bien faible. -Mais en revanche, dit le Chevalier, il avait un amour propre colossal, et le plus affreux caractère de joueur d'échecs qui ait existé. Comme il avait la manière de se croire grand mathématicien et de faire de la musique avec des chiffres, il voulait appliquer les calculs algébriques à l'échiquier. Nous plaisantions fort là dessus et alors il brouillait les pièces du jeu avec une certaine rage peu philosophique, et on ne le voyait plus au café pendant quinze jours."> ... The French Revolution : <" Et 1789 ne vous a pas dérangé de votre habitude ? -89 ! J'ai laissé passer 89 comme une année ordinaire. Le 14 juillet à midi moins le quart, je remontais sur le quai des Célestins des hommes qui allaient prendre la bastille, moi je me rendais au café de la Régence pour faire ma partie avec M Louvet de Couvray. <...>

Et en 93, vous avez donné relâche sur l'échiquier ?
-En 1793 Je jouais régulièrement aux échecs au café de la Terrasse des Feuillants, et presque tous les jours, j'avais pour galerie M de Robespierre, M Danton, M Barrière qui venaient assister à mes "échecs au Tyran" avant de se rendre à la convention. J'ai même fait quelques parties avec M de Robespierre qui jouait fort mal."> ... <"Ainsi, demanda Labourdonnais, vous avez laissé passer la révolution sans la voir ? -Je n'ai pas eu le temps de la voir. Le matin, j'avais ma toilette à faire, à midi, j'avais mes échecs, je rentrais à six heures chez moi, je lisais Lolli degli Scacchi, un auteur très fort ! J'étudiais des gambits, je méditais les combinaisons Calabrese. Tout cela prend beaucoup de temps. Un jour on m'apprit que nous avions un empereur, c'était en 1804 ou 5; je donnais un échecs au Roi à un capitaine de Berchiny. Un empereur ! pas possible ! s'écria le hussard, et il fut échecs et mat sur le coup."> (thanks to B. Lucas for transcribing Méry's article online)