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Event table notes
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| Event data |
| Place: Paris |
| Start date: 1837 |
| End date: 1839 |
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| Notes: |
| Walker (in an article appearing in Fraser's Magazine and dated Nov. 1840, reproduced by Mark Weeks, and excerpts by Sarah) says that Boncourt and de Saint-Amant are 'engaged in a match of long standing' and 'have played in all about thirty-five games; and Boncourt stands at present, I believe with a majority of three.' Diggle (in the British Chess Magazine in 1933, which article is quoted by Winter) quotes Delannoy to say that Boncourt was leading at first, but admitted de Saint-Amant's superiority at the end. Spinrad's results list and La Grande Storia degli Scacchi give the result under the year 1840 and Spinrad's article on Deschapelles says 'around 1840'. However, the first issue of Le Palamède in 1839 describes Walker's visit to Paris as taking place over that winter (of 1838-1839). So even though his article appeared in late 1840 in Fraser's Magazine, he was probably describing his visit of almost 2 years earlier. In fact, Boncourt died in Mar. 1840. Diggle says that the series in which Boncourt ended up with an advantage of 3 games extended over several years, perhaps based on the statement by Walker that it was 'a match of long standing'. The Illustrated London News of 28 Dec. 1844 (p.416) describes an 1837 match in which Boncourt won too many early in the match for de Saint-Amant to catch up, despite many wins later on, which sounds like what Delannoy said in Diggle's quote. Sissa of May 1847 (p.96) and the Leipziger Illustrirte Zeitung of 3 Apr. 1847 (p.224) repeat this story, also saying the match took place in 1837. This sounds like a confused version of the 1834 match and the later games, up to 1839. It seems likely that the this series of 35 games in which Boncourt ended with an advantage of 3 included the 1834 match of 25 games (Walker says 'in all about thirty-five games'). We don't know the exact score of the 1834 match, though it seems Boncourt won it, so I will guess at a score of 15-10 for Boncourt in 1834, and then another 4-6 for Boncourt over the years 1837-1839, to make up the total of 19-16 for Boncourt. |
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| References |
| Books |
| Winter, Kings, Commoners and Knaves, page 318 |
| Periodicals |
| [ILN], vol. 5, no. 139, 28 Dec. 1844, page 416 |
| [IZL], vol. 8, no. 196, 3 Apr. 1847, page 224 |
| [Sis], vol. 1, 1847, page 96 |
| Web |
| Sarah. [Saint Amant] |
| Sarah. [Saint Amant] |
| Sericano, C. [I grandi matches fino al 1849] |
| Spinrad, Jeremy P. [Collected results, 1836-1863] |
| Spinrad, Jeremy P. [Egomaniacal Prototype], page 2 |
| Walker, George. [Excerpt from 'The Café de la Régence'] |
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