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The Discart-Bonetti
Chess Match, 1863

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Here is your chance to experience chess as it used to be - or might have been! In January of 1863 a match took place between Francesco Discart and Cornelio Bonetti, using the old Italian rules of chess. Castling was "free" style, en passant pawn captures were disallowed, and a pawn could only be promoted to those pieces already captured! All 15 games of this great match are annotated by Discart himself, and much additional material is included.

You can own a high-quality "mini" e-book of this match in interactive ChessBase format, complete with text documents, keys, links and images. Click here to learn more.

Introduction to the Chess Match

In late 1999 your correspondent was fortunate to discover and buy the literary remains and unpublished chess manuscripts of Francesco Discart-Galli (1819-1893), a prominent Modenese player who figures in the 19th century Italian and European chess scene (see below for a more detailed description of his accomplishments). Among his papers there was a handwritten manuscript titled Grande Match al Giuoco degli Scacchi. Sfida tra l'Ingegnere Cornelio Bonetti ed il Cavaliere Francesco Discart ambedue di Modena giuocata in Modena in casa del Conte Ferdinando Cassoli nel mese di Gennajo dell'Anno 1863, which forms the subject of the present work.

In this original manuscript, now in my possession, Discart reports and annotates in his own hand the 15 games of his January 1863 match vs. his chess friend Cornelio Bonetti († 1875), one of several matches played against Bonetti to establish who was Modena's strongest chess player in the mid-19th century. The match, played at the home of Modenese chess personality Count Ferdinando Cassoli, was won handily by Discart, who scored 10-5 (+9 =2 -4), thus securing his superiority in Modena and Northern Italy once and for all. Discart was a mature player by then, and Bonetti proved no real opponent for him. Bonetti won only 4 games, almost all due to inaccuracies, if not to outright blunders, committed by Discart in otherwise very playable or uncertain positions; while Discart's wins clearly demonstrate his own superiority in each game, from the very first move until checkmate.

What opinion can we form today, almost 141 years later, about the quality of the match? Some of the games feature exciting and Romantic chess, although not all of them are characterized by 21st century "correct" play. This match, overall, is in line with 19th century Italian standards. We must recall that Discart's chess career was well established when Morphy appeared, and Steinitz had only completed his first tournament when the Discart-Bonetti match was played. In that pre-computer era, the chess style and technique of those enthusiasts was, certainly, imperfect. Yet even in the present age of silicon super computers, we hold that the accomplishments of 19th century players ought to be appreciated, those masters who were not professionals, and that even now we can enjoy their genuine combinative talents. This high Romantic style offers a very straightforward game of chess, but also lively and ingenuous, which should be treasured for its own sake – even if the games cannot be found in the latest Informant.

A word is in order about the old Italian laws of chess, especially the rules regarding castling. In Italy, from the Renaissance until the year 1880, castling was both more free and more limited. The King and Rook, after jumping over each other, could go to any square up to and including the other's starting point, provided an enemy piece was not attacked by either piece. For instance, Kingside castling for White would allow the following six options: 1. Kh1-Re1; 2. Kh1-Rf1; 3. Kh1-Rg1; 4. Kg1-Re1; 5. Kg1-Rf1 (not very popular among Italians); and 6. Kf1-Re1. Depriving one's opponent of castling was a substantial advantage, called vantaggio dell' arroccamento. You will find the Italian "free" castling used in almost all the games that follow.  

In closing, my thanks go to Anthony J. Gillam of Nottingham, England, the well-known Author and Editor of more than 200 deeply researched chess history books, for his sincere interest and help, and to Michael Naegle of Wuppertal, Germany, for his kind translation of Discart's obituary from the original German language. Thanks also to Romano Bellucci of Venezia, the Editor of Scacchi e Scienze Applicate, for his interest and willingness to publish this short essay as a supplement to his fascinating magazine. 

Alessandro Nizzola - Piazza Alcide De Gasperi, 27 - 46100 Mantova, Italy - E-mail: anizzola@libero.it

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