At the chessboard, it’s Erin go blah

There are so many things the Irish are good at: lyric poetry, dark beer, dancing with their arms epoxied to their sides. Chess, unfortunately, has never been one of them.

Those preparing a toast to the glories of Irish chess this St. Patrick’s Day will not be overwhelmed by choices. Alex Baburin, the country’s only grandmaster, is a fine player and noted chess journalist, but he was born in Russia and is currently ranked 1,846th on FIDE’s global ratings list.

This being Ireland, though, there are always a few green shoots to admire from back in the day. There was Alexander McDonnell, whose marathon matches with French rival Louis-Charles Mahe de La Bourdonnais in 1834 helped usher in the modern game. Kilkenny-born James Mason was one of the world’s top players in the 1800s but left Ireland as a boy and played all of his career in the U.S. and England.

And then there was Dublin’s own George Alcock MacDonnell (1830-1899), an Anglican minister who finished tied for third in the storied 1862 5th British Chess Congress and defeated such luminaries as Adolf Anderssen, Wilhelm Steinitz, Joseph Henry Blackburne and Isidor Gunsberg.

The reverend’s energetic style was already evident in a game early in his career against British master Samuel Boden. White’s aggressive play courts disaster in this Evans Gambit, but through blarney and brilliance, MacDonnell comes through in the end.

It’s a bit of a gambit deferred, and White never gets the powerful center typical of the Evans to compensate for the lost pawn. Boden, whose talent was praised by Paul Morphy, missed chances to cement his advantage (18…Ra4! and 20…Re8! 21. Rae1 [Ne5 Be6 22. Nxc6 Nxf4 23. Qb5 Qd2 24. Rg1 Nxh3!] Qxe1 22. Rxe1 Rxe1 both stymie White’s initiative), leading to an entertaining finish.

Thus: 22. Rad1 Qc2 23. Ne7+! Kh8 24. Qf7!? (tempting, but cleaner was 24. Rxd5! cxd5 [Rxd5 25. Qe8+ Kh7 26. Qg8 mate) 25. Re2 Qd3 26. Qf7 Ra3 27. Nh5 Qh7 28. Nxg6+ Qxg6 29. Qxg6 Rg8 30. Re8 and wins) Bxh3 25. Re2!! Qxd1? (losing; Black had to find the tricky counterdeflection 25…Be6!! 26. Rxe6 [Qxe6 Qxd1 27. Ng6+ Kh7 defends] Qxd1 27. Nh5 Rg8 28. Qg6 Qd4! 29. Nxg8 Rxg8 30. Re5 f5! to survive) 26. Nh5 Rg8 27. Nxg8 Rxg8 28. Re8!, and Black resigned as 28…Ne7 Qxg7 is mate.

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Ireland’s highest-rated player today is the respected IM Sam Collins, a lawyer, chess author and two-time national champion. One of Collins’ best attacking games came against Romanian WGM Alina L’Ami at the 2014 Bunratty Masters on his way to a tie for second in the strong open event.

This Closed Sicilian quickly veers into uncharted territory, and Black’s hyperaggressive early play (8…g5!?)  backfires when her king gets caught in the center: 17. Qe4 b5?! (definitely time to hunker down with something like 17…h5 or 17…Qc7) 18. f5! Bd6 19. fxe6 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 dxe6 21. d3 Bb7 (see diagram), and Collins breaches the enemy walls with 22. Rxf7!!.

Now 22…Kxf7?? 23. Qxe6+ Kg7 24. Bh6 is mate, but Black is forced to accept the gift a move later: 22…Nc7 23. Qxg4! Kxf7 24. Kxh2 Nd5+ 25. g3 Qe5 26. Nhf3 Qd6 27. Ng5+ Ke7 28. Ngxe6, and the Black king will find no respite for the remainder of the game.

Collins’ 36. Qe6+ Ka7 37. Nxb5+! ends things in style, as L’Ami resigns ahead of 37…axb5 (Ka8 38. Nc7+ Kb8 39. Ne8+ Ka7 40. Bd4+ Ka8 41. Rd8+ and mate next) 34. Bd4+, winning the Black queen.

MacDonnell-Boden, London Tournament, 1861

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. O-O d6 6. h3 Nf6 7. d3 O-O 8. Nc3 h6 9. Be3 Nxb4 10. Ne2 Nc6 11. Ng3 d5 12. Bb5 dxe4 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. Nxe5 exd3 15. cxd3 Qe8 16. Bxb6 axb6 17. f4 Nd5 18. Qh5 f6 19. Ng6 Qe3+ 20. Kh2 Rd8 21. Rfe1 Qxd3 22. Rad1 Qc2 23. Ne7+ Kh8 24. Qf7 Bxh3 25. Re2 Qxd1 26. Nh5 Rg8 27. Nxg8 Rxg8 28. Re8 Black resigns.

Collins-L’Ami, Bunratty Masters, County Clare, Ireland, 2014

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 c4 7. Bc2 Qc7 8. Qe2 g5 9. Na3 g4 10. Nb5 Qb8 11. Nh4 Nxe5 12. O-O a6 13. Nd4 Nd5 14. f4 Nd3 15. Bxd3 cxd3 16. Qxd3 e6 17. Qe4 b5 18. f5 Bd6 19. fxe6 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 dxe6 21. d3 Bb7 22. Rxf7 Nc7 23. Qxg4 Kxf7 24. Kxh2 Nd5+ 25. g3 Qe5 26. Nhf3 Qd6 27. Ng5+ Ke7 28. Ngxe6 Qe5 29. Bg5+ Nf6 30. Rf1 Rag8 31. Rf5 Qe1 32. Bxf6+ Ke8 33. Nc7+ Kd7 34. Rd5+ Kxc7 35. Be5+ Kb6 36. Qe6+ Ka7 37. Nxb5+ Black resigns.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.