1834 Chess Match: La Bourdonnais vs. McDonnell
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The 1834 Chess Match featured Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais of France and Alexander McDonnell of Ireland in a historic encounter held in London, England. Although not officially recognized at the time, this contest marked the first major international chess match, and La Bourdonnais, the reigning French champion, emerged victorious. The championship became renowned for its unprecedented length and intensity, setting the foundation for organized global chess competitions.
📷 Portrait of Louis-Charles de La Bourdonnais (c. 1830)
non noto / Wikimedia Commons: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Winner: Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Born: 1795, Réunion (then Île Bourbon), French Indian Ocean Territory
Died: December 1840, London, England
From Naval Battles to Chessboard Clashes
A Franco-British rivalry reborn
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795–1840) was the strongest chess player of his era, widely regarded as the unofficial world champion before the title formally existed. Born on Réunion, he grew up on Mauritius with his mother, Montlezun Pardiac, though how long he remained there is unclear.
He was the grandson of Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1699–1753), a legendary French naval commander whose victories secured French dominance in the Indian Ocean. A lifelong rival of British interests, his legacy lives on in Saint-Malo, where his statue still stands.
Trained by Alexandre Deschapelles, France’s top player, La Bourdonnais quickly surpassed his mentor and became the leading figure at the Café de la Régence in Paris. By the early 1830s, he had already defeated top British masters like John Cochrane and William Lewis, reinforcing France’s supremacy in chess.
In 1834, the Franco-British rivalry resurfaced—not at sea, but on the board—when La Bourdonnais faced Alexander McDonnell of Ireland in a dramatic 85-game match in London. His bold, tactical style and fearless pawn storms overwhelmed McDonnell, sealing a resounding victory and confirming his status as the world’s best.
La Bourdonnais also founded Le Palamède (1836), the world’s first chess magazine. Despite his fame, he died penniless in London in 1840 and was buried near McDonnell at Kensal Green Cemetery.
«My pieces shall dance upon the board!» – La Bourdonnais
Challenger: Alexander McDonnell
Born: 1798, Belfast, Ireland
Died: September 1835, London, England
Alexander McDonnell was Ireland’s premier chess master and the strongest British player of his era. A former pupil of William Lewis, McDonnell’s development into a powerful strategist culminated in his position as England’s top representative in the historic 1834 encounter. With a calm and thoughtful approach, McDonnell favored positional balance and precision but was also capable of bold combinations. Despite his relative inexperience in international matches compared to La Bourdonnais, McDonnell’s preparation and resilience led to numerous brilliant victories in the series, including the famous “Immortal 50th” game, now regarded as a masterpiece of Romantic-era chess. The 1834 match elevated McDonnell’s legacy and ensured his place among the greats, even though his career was tragically cut short by illness.
Match Overview: The First Great Chess Rivalry
🗓️ Match Dates: June – October, 1834
📍 Location: London, England
✅ Format: Six-part match series, 85 games total; most wins overall
⏱️ Time Control: No standardized time controls (pre-clock era)
💰 Prize Fund: Privately arranged stakes; total sum unknown
📄 Main Sponsors: Privately organized (no formal institutional backing)
This game exemplifies La Bourdonnais’ signature attacking style, featuring a powerful pawn storm and relentless tactical pressure. It remains one of the most celebrated games of early chess history.
Historical and Cultural Context
The 1834 match occurred during a period of growing Anglo-French rivalry, not only in geopolitics but in cultural and intellectual spheres. In this symbolic battle for chess supremacy, London hosted a marathon event that drew attention across Europe’s elite circles. Although the match was largely followed in chess cafés and reported in local press, its preservation owes much to the diligent documentation by William Greenwood Walker, whose game records became a cornerstone of modern chess literature. This match foreshadowed the formalization of international chess, introducing the idea of match-based world supremacy—a concept that would later shape the official World Chess Championship structure.
1834 Chess Match Games
📌 Nick Pope’s research on the 1834 matches offers essential clarity on the structure, scoring, and historical context of the series. His work is a key reference for understanding this landmark rivalry.
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1834 Chess Match Sources
Quote Sources
- Le Palamède, Chess Periodical, 1836.
- Winter, Edward. Chess Notes (ChessHistory.com).
General Sources
- Chess Archaeology: (by Nick Pope) 1834 La Bourdonnais-Macdonnell Matches
- Wikipedia: La Bourdonnais–McDonnell chess matches
- H.J.R. Murray: A History of Chess – (1913, Oxford University Press)
- David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld: The Oxford Companion to Chess – (1992, Oxford University Press)
- William Greenwood Walker: Records of the 1834 Chess Match – (archive-only)
- BritBase: Historic UK matches and game records
- Internet Archive: Multiple digitized historical chess works
- Google Books: 19th-century chess sources including Staunton and Walker
- Mark Weeks’ Chess Pages: Match overview and annotations
Photo Credits
📷 Portrait of Louis-Charles de La Bourdonnais (c. 1830)
non noto / Wikimedia Commons: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Sources, image credits, and attributions for this championship are listed on this page. For general information about the World Chess Champions timeline, visit the main page.