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Alexandre
Deschapelles was a
French
chess player who, for a
time, was probably the strongest player in the world. He was
considered the unofficial world champion from about
1800-1820. When his student,
Louis de la
Bourdonnais
could beat him, Deschapelles retired from chess.
Deschapelles was often called "the
coffee house world champion". This immortal of the Café de
la Regence made his reputation by beating many of the best
for stakes and at odds. Perhaps the greatest gamesman in
history, he was also the strongest whist player in France.
He fought in Napoleon’s
army and was left for dead at the siege of Mainz, losing his
right hand. Which meant that as a stickler for republican
principles, he conducted duels with his left hand, sporting
a saber scar from eyebrow to chin. He boasted about learning
enough in three days to be the best at chess. When a
prospective opponent at La Regence said "my religion forbids
me to play for money", Deschapelles responded "mine forbids
me to be absurd".
In 1821 at St. Cloud (France), Deschapelles
gave odds of the f-pawn and two moves in a series of games
against John Cochrane and Bourdonnais. He beat Cochrane +6
-0 =1 and lost to his student +1 -6 =0.
He soon retired from chess after
the match, preferring to make more money playing whist. In
1836 he staged a brief comeback, drawing a match with
Pierre Saint-Amant, +1 -1 =1, while giving odds of a pawn and two
moves.
Wrote an interviewer of Deschapelles,
"Deschapelles is the greatest chess player in France;
Deschapelles is the greatest whist player in France;
Deschapelles is the greatest billiards player in France
(using the stump of his right arm to push the cue);
Deschapelles is the greatest pumpkin-grower in France;
Deschapelles is the greatest liar in France". He was also
the greatest character among the world chess champions.
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