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The Discart-Bonetti
Chess Match, 1863

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Cornelius Bonetti: The Snake 

The birth date of Cornelio Bonetti is not known, but this strong Italian player died in Rome, circa 1875. He was an Engineer, a designer of railways and tunnels, and was considered among the strongest Modenese players in the mid-19th century. Bonetti was one of Discart's favorite opponents, with whom he played several matches, coming out inferior by only a small margin. In 1849 he played against Calvi, and obtained an even score (+8 =4 -8). In Modena chess circles he was nicknamed "il Biscione" (the Snake) for his sudden and unexpected attacks on the chessboard. When already an old man he faced Dubois, but lost the encounter. Bonetti composed various problems, published mainly in the Rivista degli Scacchi of 1859, but also in the Schachzeitung of 1847, 1848, and 1862. See the Dizionario Enciclopedico degli Scacchi, p. 59. 

The following two games, found among Discart's papers, are fine examples of Bonetti's sharp and aggressive style.

Click below to see Bonetti's chess games:

 Snake.htm

Note: the Dizionario Enciclopedico and other trustworthy sources, including the Storia degli Scacchi in Italia, report Bonetti's first name as "Carlo". However, since Discart's handwritten papers unequivocally speak of "Cornelio" Bonetti, we have to assume that Discart, being a primary source, is more accurate. Therefore "Carlo" is probably a mistake traceable to the fact that 19th century chess publications reported his name as merely "C. Bonetti". 

The Discart – Bonetti Match 1863

As mentioned previously, this match was a clear victory for Discart. At the very start, however, we find an unexpected win by Bonetti in the opening game, in which Discart had secured a clearly superior position, or nearly winning, but ruined it with a serious mistake in the middlegame. After a draw in the second game, Discart took the upper hand with 3 smooth and easy wins in the 3rd, 4th and 5th games. Bonetti's reaction consisted of two hard-fought wins in the 6th and 7th games, encounters featuring Discart again throwing away good chances owing to inaccuracies. But this rally was Bonetti's last, for in the remaining 8 games Discart scored a total of 6 wins and a draw, losing only one game. 

A few notes about the openings played in this match. Excepting the 2nd game, in which Bonetti played 1.f4, all the games of the match started with the King's Pawn opening, 1.e4, with 1.e4 e5 played in 10 out of the 15 games – in good 19th century fashion. Discart's main weapon was the Evans Gambit, of which he was a great connoisseur, while Bonetti often aimed for the Giuoco Piano. One is surprised to see Bonetti defend himself, playing Black, with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bd6 in the 13th game, and with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bd6 in the 15th and final game. We might also remark Bonetti's 1.f4 d5 2.c4 in the 2nd game, but these movements are likely due to the anti-theoretical approach of Bonetti himself who, as recorded, was not very well versed in opening theory even of the 19th century, and who probably aimed only at reaching a playable middlegame position. Discart, the theoretician, was instead very quick at exploiting inaccuracies in the opening, as seen clearly in the 3rd and 9th games. 

The Discart – Bonetti Match
Modena (January 7-24) 1863 

Discart, F.    0 = 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 = 1 1   10
 Bonetti, C.   1 = 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 = 0 0    5 

Games of a Match Between Discart and Bonetti
played In January of the Year 1863 

Here are given all 15 games of the Discart-Bonetti match, Modena 1863. To reach a wider audience of international readers, the original 19th century Italian language has been translated into modern English, and the old descriptive Italian chess notation converted into modern algebraic notation. While viewing these games recall again the three special rules described earlier, and observe that "free" castling is represented as two (or three) consecutive moves by the same player. In actual play castling is simply one action, as we know it, and so the move numbers in the Notation Window are distorted after one side castles "free" – a concession to the machine age. Click the HTML below to see the match; all game annotations are by Francesco Discart. 

Great Match
At the Game of Chess
Match between Engineer Cornelio Bonetti
And Cavalier Francesco Discart both of Modena
Played in Modena at the home of Count Ferdinando Cassoli
In the Month of January of the Year 1863

match.htm

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The Discart-Bonetti Match, 1863
Copyright (C) 2004 by Alessandro Nizzola 

All comments, suggestions, improvements, corrections, tips, advice, and general trivia are welcome. These may be directed to the publisher:

Pickard & Son, Publishers
P.O. Box 2320
Wylie, TX 75098
tel: 972-429-9052 fax: 972-429-9053
e-mail: mailto:chess@ChessCentral.com

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