Their poets, golfers and alemakers may be world-class, but Ireland doesn’t really rank as a powerhouse on the global chess scene. The Emerald Isle boasts just one grandmaster, Russian-born Alexander Baburin, who earned his title nearly three decades ago, while the highest-rated Irish player, IM Sam Collins, sits at 852nd in FIDE’s ranking of the active players around the globe.
To add insult to injury, the player with perhaps the most Irish name of all time — former world correspondence chess champ Alberic O’Kelly de Galway — was Belgian.
Still, on this St. Patrick’s Day, proud Hibernians can point to a rich legacy early in the modern game’s development, with two similarly-named Irish players among the best in the world during the game’s 19th-century Romantic Era. The better-known Alexander McDonnell, born in Belfast in 1798, was one of the best players of his day and played in an epic series of matches in 1834 with French master Louis Charles de la Bourdonnais that are still admired and studied to this day.
Dublin-born George Alcock MacDonnell (1830-1899) may not be as familiar to modern players, but the Anglican clergyman also ranked as one of the world’s best players in the post-Morphy era, with wins over such top players as Amos Burn, Isidor Gunsberg and Johannes Zukertort.
MacDonnell, who kept up a long side career as one of the most popular chess columnists of his day, played in fewer than two dozen organized tournaments, never winning the big prize but scoring some impressive results nonetheless.
He finished a very creditable fourth in the storied 5th British Chess Association Congress of 1862, beating future world champion Wilhelm Steinitz of Austria during the event. He also scored a notable win against young rival Joseph Henry Blackburne, who would go on to dominate the British chess scene for decades to come. (MacDonnell would score a very respectable 4-5-1 record against the English star over their careers.)
In a venerable Giuoco Piano gambit line, the early middlegame centers around whether White’s isolated d-pawn will prove an asset or a liability. On 21. Rxf3 Nh4 22. Rg3 c6, MacDonnell’s pawn is firmly blocked, and he initiates a kingside demonstration to change the dynamic of the game with 23. Rc5 Qd6 24. Rcg5!? (sounder and safer was 24. Re5) Ng6 25. h4 f6, only to find his rooks stuck on clumsy squares and in danger of getting trapped.
Blackburne misses his chance to punish his opponent’s set-up (28…Nf4! puts the White rooks in a bind, and a few moves later, 32…Nf4! 33. Rh2 Re8 34. Re3 Rfe7 35. Qd2 Rxe3 36. fxe3 Nd5 would have given Black a strong initiative), and a major-piece standoff develops after 37. Qc3 Qd6 38. Rhe3! — Black’s lineup on the d-file looks imposing, but his rook on d4 is effectively pinned as moving it allows the White queen a winning check on h8.
MacDonnell proves tactically superior to his opponent in the game’s critical phase: 40. Rd2! Kf7 (Rxd2?? 41. Qh8+ Kf7 42. Qg7 mate) 41. Re1 Qf6? (b5, locking down the pawn chain, was Black’s last best chance to play for a win) 42. Qe3 Re4? (see diagram; the Black rook blocks the threatened mate on e8, but allows White to turn the tables with a queen “sacrifice”) 43. Rxd7+! Ke6 44. Red1! Rxe3 45. R1d6+ Ke5 46. f4+! (and not 46. Rxf6?? Re1+ 47. Kh2 Kxf6 48. Rxh7 Kg5, throwing away the win), winning decisive material.
It’s over on 46…Kxf4 47. Rxf6 Rxa3 48. Rxg6! (the cleanest path to victory) hxg6 49. h7 Ra1+ 50. Kh2, and Blackburne resigned as White will deliver mate shortly after obtaining a new queen.
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Speaking of McDonnell and Labourdonnais, WGM Carissa Yip and IM Alice Lee are embarked on a rivalry that may define women’s chess in America for decades to come. Yip, 22, and Lee, just 16, are battling for the title of America’s best woman chessplayer, a friendly but deadly serious clash that was renewed at the just-completed American Women’s Cup knockout tournament at the St. Louis Chess Club.
Lee won the latest round last week by edging Yip in the Cup’s rapid-game playoff final, taking the title-deciding game with some alert tactics in an Advance Caro-Kann Defense line.
Yip as White misses a good chance to open up the game to her advantage on 16. Bb2 Be7, when 17. Bxe4! dxe4 18. d5! would have put serious pressure on Black in lines such as 18…exd5 19. Qxd5 e3? 20. e6!. A fierce battle for queenside control results in Lee giving up her queen for White’s two rooks after 24. Bc3 b6!? 25. Ra1 Qxa1+ 26. Bxa1 bxc5 27. dxc5 Rb8 28. Bc3 — Yip’s connected passed pawns look menacing, but the Black rooks and knights are well-placed to maintain a blockade.
Lee pounces when her opponent overlooks a tactical finesse: 28…d4 29. Nxd4 Rfd8 30. Qb2? (it’s still anyone’s game after 30. Nxc6!? Rxd2 31. Nxe7+ Kf8 32. Bxd2 Kxe7 33. f4) Rxd4! 31. Bxd4 Rxb4, winning the unfortunate bishop on d4.
Black’s rook and two knights easily overpower White’s lone queen, a reality underscored by 33. f3 Nxe5!, winning another pawn as 34. Qxd4?? allows 34…Nxf3+. On 39. g5 hxg5, White resigns facing such bleak lines as 40…Ndc6 41. Kg1 Kh7 42. Qa3 Kh6 43. Qh3 Rh4 44. Qc3 Kxh5, and the Black kingside pawns will roll down the board.
On the men’s side, GM Wesley So claimed his first American Cup and the $90,000 first prize by defeating GM Levon Aronian in the finals.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
MacDonnell-Blackburne, BCA Grand Tourney, London, June 1862
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. c3 Nf6 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. O-O O-O 11. h3 Bf5 12. Nb3 Nf4 13. Qd2 Ng6 14. Rfe1 Qd6 15. Re3 Nb4 16. Ne1 Rad8 17. a3 Nd5 18. Bxd5 Qxd5 19. Nf3 Be4 20. Rc1 Bxf3 21. Rxf3 Nh4 22. Rg3 c6 23. Rc5 Qd6 24. Rcg5 Ng6 25. h4 f6 26. R5g4 f5 27. Rg5 Rf7 28. h5 Nf8 29. Qc2 Qf6 30. h6 g6 31. Rh5 Ne6 32. Rhh3 Nxd4 33. Nxd4 Rxd4 34. Rd3 Rfd7 35. Qc3 Kf7 36. Qb3+ Kf8 37. Qc3 Qd6 38. Rhe3 c5 39. b4 c4 40. Rd2 Kf7 41. Re1 Qf6 42. Qe3 Re4 43. Rxd7+ Ke6 44. Red1 Rxe3 45. R1d6+ Ke5 46. f4+ Kxf4 47. Rxf6 Rxa3 48. Rxg6 hxg6 49. h7 Ra1+ 50. Kh2 Black resigns.
Yip-Lee, Women’s American Cup Final, St. Louis, March 2026
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Bb5 cxd4 6. cxd4 Bf5 7. Nc3 e6 8. Nge2 Nge7 9. h4 h6 10. h5 a6 11. Bd3 Rc8 12. a3 Qb6 13. Na4 Qa7 14. b4 Be4 15. O-O Nf5 16. Bb2 Be7 17. Rc1 O-O 18. Nc5 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Bxc5 20. Rxc5 a5 21. g4 Nfe7 22. Qd2 axb4 23. axb4 Qa4 24. Bc3 b6 25. Ra1 Qxa1+ 26. Bxa1 bxc5 27. dxc5 Rb8 28. Bc3 d4 29. Nxd4 Rfd8 30. Qb2 Rxd4 31. Bxd4 Rxb4 32. Qc3 Rxd4 33. f3 Nxe5 34. Kf2 N7c6 35. Ke2 Rd3 36. Qa1 Nd4+ 37. Kf2 Rxf3+ 38. Kg2 Rf4 39. g5 hxg5 White resigns.
• Got a hot tip or a cool game to share? David R. Sands can be reached at davidrsands18@gmail.com.
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