[Event "La Bourdonnais - McDonnell 1st Casual Match"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "1834.??.??"]
[EventDate "1834.00.01"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais"]
[Black "Alexander McDonnell"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1. e4 {Notes by Morphy} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 {The
required move of 4...Nf6 is undoubtedly the best at Black's
command at this juncture; the objection to the course pursued
in the text is that enables White to establish center pawns. }
5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb6 7. d5 {This move, a favorite one with
Labourdonnais at this stage of the Giuco Piano, is inferior,
in our opinion, to 7.Nc3. The advance of the queen's pawn is
premature, and, if properly met by Black, should lead to a
perfectly even game. } Ne5 {The correct play is 7.Nce7}
8. Nxe5 dxe5 9. Nc3 Nf6 10. Bg5 O-O {This allows White by
playing his queen to f3, to double the Black pawns upon the
f-file, and to gain an opening upon the adverse king; but
however Black had played, white would still have had a
slightly superior game. } 11. Qf3 Qd6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Qxf6
gxf6 14. g4 Kg7 15. Ne2 Rh8 16. Rg1 Kf8 17. Rg2 Ke7 18. O-O-O
h5 {18...Bd7, with the view of playing the queen's rook to g8,
would have been far preferable. } 19. g5 f5 20. Nc3 Bc5 21. g6
Bd6 22. gxf7 Kxf7 23. f4 exf4 24. Rdg1 Kf8 25. Rg6 f3 26. exf5
Be5 {In this game M'Donnell does not seem to have played with
the self reliance which characterized the three preceding
contests. 25...Bd7 would surely have been more advisable; the
move made throws the game away at once. } 27. d6 cxd6 28. Rg8+
Rxg8 29. Rxg8+ Ke7 30. Nd5+ Kd7 31. Bb5# 1-0