François-André Danican Philidor
Encyclopedia
François-André Danican Philidor (September 7, 1726 – August 31, 1795), often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French
composer
and chess player
. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique
. He was also regarded as the best chess player of his age; his book Analyse du jeu des Échecs was considered a standard chess manual for at least a century, and a well-known opening and checkmate method are both named after him.
François-André Danican Philidor was born to his father’s second wife, Elizabeth Le Roy, whom he wed in 1719 when she was 19 years old and he 72. When François-André was born, his father was 79 years old; he died 4 years later and left his son fatherless.
in 1732 at the age of six, and made his first attempt at the composition of a song at the age of 11. It was said that Louis XV wanted to listen to the choir almost every day, and the singers, while waiting for the king to arrive, played chess to relieve their boredom; this may have sparked Philidor's interest in chess.
From around 1740 he lived and worked in Paris as a performer, teacher and music copyist. He was the teacher of the Bohemian composer and pianist Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith
. During this time he met Diderot, who calls him 'Philidor le subtil' in Le neveu de Rameau. He spent much of the period 1745–54 in London after a concert tour of the Netherlands collapsed, and moved in the same circles as Dr Johnson
and Dr Burney
. He returned to the French capital in 1754, although his music was found by some to be too Italianate (as a result of his travels). However he scored several triumphs at the fair theatres, starting with Blaise le savetier in 1759. His three most successful works were Le sorcier (1764), Tom Jones
(after Henry Fielding
, 1765), and Ernelinde (1767).
For a time Philidor was among the leading opera composers in France, and during his musical career produced over 20 opéras comiques
and two tragédies-lyriques. He also wrote secular cantatas and motets.
. It was also there that he famously played with a friend from 'New England
', Mr. Benjamin Franklin
. The best player in France at the time, Legall de Kermeur
, taught him. At first, Legall could give Philidor rook odds
, a handicap in which the stronger player starts without one of his rooks, but in only three years, Philidor was his equal, and then surpassed him. Philidor visited England in 1747 and decisively beat the Syria
n Phillip Stamma
in a match +8 =1 −1, despite the fact Philidor let Stamma have White in every game, and scored all draws as wins for Stamma.
The same year, Philidor played many games with another strong player, Sir Abraham Janssen, who was then the best player in England, and with the exception of M. de Legalle, probably the best player Philidor ever encountered. He could win on an average one game in four off Philidor, at even terms; and Philidor himself declared that he could only give to Janssen the pawn for the move.
In 1754, Philidor returned to France, after nine years of absence spent mostly in Holland and England. He was now a much stronger player, having successfully played with opponent of the calibre of Philip Stamma and Abraham Janssen, but, as G. Allen reports in The life of Philidor, it was not until his match with de Legal in 1755 that he can be considered the strongest player in the world.
In 1771 and 1773 Philidor made brief stays in London to play at the Salopian coffee-house, Charing Cross and at the St James Chess Club. In 1774 the Parloe's chess club, on St James street, in London, was created and Philidor obtained a remuneration as a chess master every year, for a regular season from February to June. Philidor stayed faithful to this agreement until the end of his life and he was replaced by Verdoni only after his death. It is rightly in this place Philidor encountered Mr. George Atwood
, famous mathematician and physician, lecturer at Cambridge University. In an article of J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Atwood.html, devoted to George Atwood, there is the following passage:
H E Bird records:
In England, Philidor astounded his peers by playing three blindfold chess
games simultaneously in the chess club of St. James Street in London
on 9 May 1783. Philidor let all three opponents play white, and gave up a pawn for the third player. Some affidavit
s were signed, because those persons who were involved doubted that future generations would believe that such a feat was possible. Today, three simultaneous blindfold games would be fairly unremarkable among many chess masters
. Even when he was in his late years, when he was 67 years old (1793), he played and won two blindfold games simultaneously in London.
Philidor, both in England and France, was largely recognized in each of this fields and got a lot of admirers, protectors and also friends, like were the French philosophers Voltaire
, Rousseau
and the famous English actor David Garrick
(1717–1779).
In December 1792, however, when he was then age 65, Philidor had to leave definitively France for England. He was fleeing the French Revolution
(1789–1799), because his name figured on the Revolutionary banishment list, established by the Convention nationale. This was not probably due to his ideas (indeed it seems Philidor was rather reserved about his opinions apart from music and chess), but very likely in view of the traditional attachment of his family to the King's family service http://www.chess-theory.com/encpch03_chess_practice_chess_history.php.
Andrew Soltis
writes that Philidor "was the best player in the world for 50 years. In fact, he was probably about 200 rating points better than anyone else yet alive—set apart by the mysteries of the game he had solved."
Also interesting is GM Boris Alterman
's opinion on Philidor play http://chesslessons.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/the-soul-of-chess/:
In the same web-article, Alterman also noticed, analyzing the game Count Bruehl–Philidor, F, 0–1, London 1783, that Philidor understood very well modern concepts like: power of passed pawns; bad and good pieces; space advantage; open files; pawn structure; importance of center.
Jacques François Mouret
, one of the best French players of the early 19th century, was Philidor's great-nephew.
in the chess game; and his most famous advice was the saying "The pawns are the soul of chess".
More precisely Philidor said:
It was said that the reason why Philidor emphasized the pawns in the chess game was related to the political background during the eighteenth century of France, and that he regarded pawns as the "Third rank" on the chess board (citizens were regarded as the third rank of the society before the French Revolution
started in 1789). He also included analysis of certain positions of rook and bishop versus rook, such analysis being still current theory even today. He is most famous for showing an important drawing technique with a rook and pawn versus rook endgame, in a position known as the Philidor position
. The Philidor Defense
(1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6) is named for him. Philidor’s book was the very first (1) that gave detailed annotations on how to play the middlegame, (2) that presented chess strategy as a whole, and (3) that presented the concepts of the blockade, prophylaxis, positional sacrifice, and mobility of the pawn formation.
Early criticisms to the Analyse du jeu des Échecs include those of the Modenese School (Ercole del Rio
, Lolli
or Ponziani
), who in contrast to the French, advocated a free piece play, gambit
openings and tactical complications and found some of the variations reported in the Analyse unsound (in particular those related with f7–f5 push in the Philidor Defence
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5?!). But also those of some of his disciples (Bernard, Carlier, Leger, and Verdoni), who met at the Café de la Régence
, under the name of Société des Amateurs. In their book, Traité des Amateurs
, in fact, they embody many criticisms and comments upon his earlier printed book arguing that the variations reported by the Analyse are more instructive than correct. Nevertheless, the games of the Traité
can be regarded, together of those of Philidor as typical examples of the understanding of chess during the Enlightenment
and the Société des Amateurs was much closer to Philidor than to the Modenese school.
occurred. Because of many of his social connections mentioned above, the Revolutionary Government put him on the banned list. He died on August 31, 1795, in London and was buried in St James, Piccadilly
. A few days later, his relatives succeeded in getting his name removed from the list.
with music by Amédée Dutacq and libretto by Abraham Dreyfus entitled Battez Philidor ! (Beat Philidor!) was premiered on 13 November 1882 at the Opéra-Comique
. Set in 1777, a poor musician is required to beat Philidor at chess before he can win the hand of his sweetheart. Although Philidor agrees to lose the match to help out, by distraction he nonetheless wins the game, although all turns out well for the lovers in the end. Battez Philidor ! also features Philidor's sometime collaborator A A H Poinsinet.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and chess player
Chess player
A chess player is someone who plays the game of chess, and may also refer to:* The Chess Players , painting by Thomas Eakins* The Chess Players , film directed by Satyajit Ray...
. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique
Opéra comique
Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...
. He was also regarded as the best chess player of his age; his book Analyse du jeu des Échecs was considered a standard chess manual for at least a century, and a well-known opening and checkmate method are both named after him.
Musical family
François-André Danican Philidor came from an extraordinary musical family, which included:- Jean Danican Philidor (ca.1620–79), André Danican Philidor's grandfather, was a musician at the Grande Écurie (literally, the Great Stable; figuratively, the Military Band) in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The original name of his family was Danican (D'Anican) and was of Scottish origin (Duncan). Philidor was a later addition to the family name. Jean Danican Philidor was given the nickname of Philidor by Louis XIII because his oboe playing reminded the king of an Italian virtuoso oboistOboistAn oboist is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the cor anglais, oboe d'amore, shawm and oboe musette....
coming from SienaSienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
named Filidori.
- Michel Danican (died ca.1659), André Danican Philidor's great-uncle, was a renowned oboistOboistAn oboist is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the cor anglais, oboe d'amore, shawm and oboe musette....
and, together with Jean HotteterreJean HotteterreJean Hotteterre was a composer and musician of the Hotteterre family in the court of Louis XIV of France. He and his brothers Jacques-Martin and Nicolas made many enhancements to the hautbois, creating an "indoor" version similar to the shawm. Jean and Michel Philidore created the oboe.-References:...
, coinvented the oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
by modifying the shawmShawmThe shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
so that the bore was narrower and the reed near could be held near the end by the player's lips.
- André Danican Philidor (ca.1647–1730), François-André Danican Philidor's father, was also known as Philidor l'ainé (Philidor the Elder). He was an oboist and crumhornCrumhornThe crumhorn is a musical instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance period. In modern times, there has been a revival of interest in Early Music, and crumhorns are being played again....
player. He was a member of the Grande Écurie military band and later performed at the Court, at the Royal Chapel, in the employ of Louis XIV. - Jacques Danican Philidor (1657–1708) was the younger brother of André Danican Philidor (Philidor the Elder) and, being a musician, too, was logically known as Philidor le cadet (Philidor the Younger).
- Pierre Danican Philidor (1681–1731), also a musician, was the son of Jacques Danican Philidor.
- Anne Danican PhilidorAnne Danican PhilidorAnne Danican Philidor is best remembered today for having founded the Concert Spirituel, an important series of public concerts held in the palace of the Tuileries from 1725 to 1791....
(1681–1728) was André Danican Philidor's oldest brother. Anne Danican Philidor is best remembered today for having founded the Concert SpirituelConcert SpirituelThe Concert Spirituel was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790; later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, London and elsewhere...
, an important series of public concerts held in the palace of the Tuileries from 1725 to 1791.
François-André Danican Philidor was born to his father’s second wife, Elizabeth Le Roy, whom he wed in 1719 when she was 19 years old and he 72. When François-André was born, his father was 79 years old; he died 4 years later and left his son fatherless.
Musical career
Philidor joined the royal choir of Louis XVLouis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
in 1732 at the age of six, and made his first attempt at the composition of a song at the age of 11. It was said that Louis XV wanted to listen to the choir almost every day, and the singers, while waiting for the king to arrive, played chess to relieve their boredom; this may have sparked Philidor's interest in chess.
From around 1740 he lived and worked in Paris as a performer, teacher and music copyist. He was the teacher of the Bohemian composer and pianist Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith
Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith
Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith was a Bohemian horn player and versatile composer influenced by Josef Haydn and Ignaz Pleyel. Today he is chiefly remembered because of his adaptions of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
. During this time he met Diderot, who calls him 'Philidor le subtil' in Le neveu de Rameau. He spent much of the period 1745–54 in London after a concert tour of the Netherlands collapsed, and moved in the same circles as Dr Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
and Dr Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
. He returned to the French capital in 1754, although his music was found by some to be too Italianate (as a result of his travels). However he scored several triumphs at the fair theatres, starting with Blaise le savetier in 1759. His three most successful works were Le sorcier (1764), Tom Jones
Tom Jones (Philidor)
Tom Jones is a comédie mêlée d'ariettes, a kind of opéra comique, by the French composer François-André Danican Philidor which first appeared at the Comédie-Italienne, Paris on 27 February 1765...
(after Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....
, 1765), and Ernelinde (1767).
For a time Philidor was among the leading opera composers in France, and during his musical career produced over 20 opéras comiques
Opéra comique
Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...
and two tragédies-lyriques. He also wrote secular cantatas and motets.
Chess career
Philidor started playing regularly around 1740 at the chess Mecca of France, the Café de la RégenceCafé de la Régence
The Café de la Régence in Paris was an important European centre of chess in the 18th and 19th centuries. All important chess masters of the time played there.The Café' masters include, but are not limited to:* Paul Morphy...
. It was also there that he famously played with a friend from 'New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
', Mr. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
. The best player in France at the time, Legall de Kermeur
Legall de Kermeur
Legall de Kermeur was a French chess player.His name is variously written Kermur, Sire de Legalle, by Twiss, and Kermur and Kermuy, Sire de Legal, by others...
, taught him. At first, Legall could give Philidor rook odds
Chess handicap
A handicap in chess is a way to enable a weaker player to have a chance of winning against a stronger one. There are many kinds of such handicaps, such as material odds, extra moves A handicap (or "odds") in chess is a way to enable a weaker player to have a chance of winning against a stronger...
, a handicap in which the stronger player starts without one of his rooks, but in only three years, Philidor was his equal, and then surpassed him. Philidor visited England in 1747 and decisively beat the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n Phillip Stamma
Phillip Stamma
Philipp Stamma , a native of Aleppo, Syria, later resident of England and France, was a chess master and a pioneer of modern chess. His reputation rests largely on his authorship of the early chess book Essai sur le jeu des echecs published 1737 in France...
in a match +8 =1 −1, despite the fact Philidor let Stamma have White in every game, and scored all draws as wins for Stamma.
The same year, Philidor played many games with another strong player, Sir Abraham Janssen, who was then the best player in England, and with the exception of M. de Legalle, probably the best player Philidor ever encountered. He could win on an average one game in four off Philidor, at even terms; and Philidor himself declared that he could only give to Janssen the pawn for the move.
In 1754, Philidor returned to France, after nine years of absence spent mostly in Holland and England. He was now a much stronger player, having successfully played with opponent of the calibre of Philip Stamma and Abraham Janssen, but, as G. Allen reports in The life of Philidor, it was not until his match with de Legal in 1755 that he can be considered the strongest player in the world.
"When Philidor left Paris, in 1745, although he had for some time been playing even games with M. de Legal... he had not ceased to recognize his old master as still his master and superior. But nine years of practice, with a great variety of players, had authorized him to look for neither superior nor equal; and when, in 1755, a match was arranged between the pupil and his master, who was still at the height of his strength, the result placed the crown firmly and indisputably upon the head of Philidor."
In 1771 and 1773 Philidor made brief stays in London to play at the Salopian coffee-house, Charing Cross and at the St James Chess Club. In 1774 the Parloe's chess club, on St James street, in London, was created and Philidor obtained a remuneration as a chess master every year, for a regular season from February to June. Philidor stayed faithful to this agreement until the end of his life and he was replaced by Verdoni only after his death. It is rightly in this place Philidor encountered Mr. George Atwood
George Atwood
George Atwood was an English mathematician who invented a machine for illustrating the effects of Newton's first law of motion...
, famous mathematician and physician, lecturer at Cambridge University. In an article of J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Atwood.html, devoted to George Atwood, there is the following passage:
" Atwood was a renowned amateur chess-player and among other opponents played games against the famous French player Philidor, who was regarded as the unofficial world champion."
H E Bird records:
"Of the players who encountered Philidor, Sir Abraham Janssens, who died in 1775, seems to have been the best, Mr. George Atwood, a mathematician, one of Pitt's secretaries came next, he was of a class which we should call third or two grades of odds below Philidor, a high standard of excellence to which but few amateurs attain. One of most interesting features of Atwood as a chess player is that he recorded and preserved some of his games, an unusual practice at that time. These records have survived, among them the last games that Philidor played which were against Atwood at Parsloe's Club in London on 20 June 1795."
In England, Philidor astounded his peers by playing three blindfold chess
Blindfold chess
Blindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces...
games simultaneously in the chess club of St. James Street in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 9 May 1783. Philidor let all three opponents play white, and gave up a pawn for the third player. Some affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
s were signed, because those persons who were involved doubted that future generations would believe that such a feat was possible. Today, three simultaneous blindfold games would be fairly unremarkable among many chess masters
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
. Even when he was in his late years, when he was 67 years old (1793), he played and won two blindfold games simultaneously in London.
Philidor, both in England and France, was largely recognized in each of this fields and got a lot of admirers, protectors and also friends, like were the French philosophers Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and the famous English actor David Garrick
David Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
(1717–1779).
In December 1792, however, when he was then age 65, Philidor had to leave definitively France for England. He was fleeing the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
(1789–1799), because his name figured on the Revolutionary banishment list, established by the Convention nationale. This was not probably due to his ideas (indeed it seems Philidor was rather reserved about his opinions apart from music and chess), but very likely in view of the traditional attachment of his family to the King's family service http://www.chess-theory.com/encpch03_chess_practice_chess_history.php.
Andrew Soltis
Andrew Soltis
Andrew Eden Soltis is a chess Grandmaster, author and columnist.He won at Reggio Emilia 1971–72 and was equal first at New York 1977. He was awarded the International Master title in 1974 and became a Grandmaster in 1980...
writes that Philidor "was the best player in the world for 50 years. In fact, he was probably about 200 rating points better than anyone else yet alive—set apart by the mysteries of the game he had solved."
Also interesting is GM Boris Alterman
Boris Alterman
Boris Alterman is an Israeli chess Grandmaster, FIDE Senior Trainer , advisor of the Junior chess program....
's opinion on Philidor play http://chesslessons.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/the-soul-of-chess/:
"500 years ago chess was different from today. Pawns didn't cost as much as they do today. The best players started games with the gambits. Pawns were only a small price to: Open a file or diagonal; Create an immediate attack on an opponent's king. It was the Italian style of chess. All positions of the King's Gambit were very popular... The best chess player of his day was Francois Andre Danican-Philidor... His published chess strategy stood for a hundred years without significant addition or modification. He preached the value of a strong pawn center, an understanding of the relative value of the pieces, and correct pawn formations...".
In the same web-article, Alterman also noticed, analyzing the game Count Bruehl–Philidor, F, 0–1, London 1783, that Philidor understood very well modern concepts like: power of passed pawns; bad and good pieces; space advantage; open files; pawn structure; importance of center.
Jacques François Mouret
Jacques François Mouret
Jacques François Mouret was a French chess master of the early 19th century and one of the operators of The Turk.-Brief Biography:...
, one of the best French players of the early 19th century, was Philidor's great-nephew.
l'Analyse du jeu des Échecs
In 1749, Philidor published his famous book Analyse du jeu des Échecs. He printed a second edition in 1777, and a third edition in 1790. The book was such an advance in chess knowledge that by 1871, it had gone through about 70 editions, and had been translated into English, German, Russian and Italian. In it, Philidor analyzed nine different types of game openings. Most of the openings of Philidor are designed to strengthen and establish a strong defensive center using pawns. He is the first one to realize the new role of the pawnPawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
in the chess game; and his most famous advice was the saying "The pawns are the soul of chess".
More precisely Philidor said:
"Mon but principal est de me rendre recommandable par une nouveauté dont personne ne s'est avisé, ou peut-être n'a été capable ; c'est celle de bien jouer les pions ; ils sont l'âme des Echecs : ce sont eux-mêmes qui forment uniquement l'attaque et la défense et de leur bon ou mauvais arrangement dépend entièrement le gain ou la perte de la partie."
Translation: "My main purpose is to make myself commendable by a novelty of which no one was aware or perhaps was capable [of discovering]; this is to play the pawns well; they are the soul of chess: it is they which uniquely determine the attack and the defence, and on their good or bad arrangement depends entirely the winning or losing of the game."
It was said that the reason why Philidor emphasized the pawns in the chess game was related to the political background during the eighteenth century of France, and that he regarded pawns as the "Third rank" on the chess board (citizens were regarded as the third rank of the society before the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
started in 1789). He also included analysis of certain positions of rook and bishop versus rook, such analysis being still current theory even today. He is most famous for showing an important drawing technique with a rook and pawn versus rook endgame, in a position known as the Philidor position
Philidor position
The Philidor position usually refers to an important chess endgame which illustrates a drawing technique when the defender has a king and rook versus a king, rook, and a pawn. It is also known as the third rank defense, because of the importance of the rook on the third rank cutting off the...
. The Philidor Defense
Philidor Defence
The Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:It is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative to the common 2...Nc6...
(1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6) is named for him. Philidor’s book was the very first (1) that gave detailed annotations on how to play the middlegame, (2) that presented chess strategy as a whole, and (3) that presented the concepts of the blockade, prophylaxis, positional sacrifice, and mobility of the pawn formation.
Early criticisms to the Analyse du jeu des Échecs include those of the Modenese School (Ercole del Rio
Ercole del Rio
Domenico Ercole del Rio was an Italian lawyer and author. He published an 110-page chess book in 1750 which was the basis of a work by Giambattista Lolli thirteen years later. He composed many chess problems. He was one of the Modenese Masters.-References:...
, Lolli
Giambattista Lolli
Giambattista Lolli was an Italian chess player. Lolli was one of the most important chess theoreticians of his time. He is most famous for his book Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoco degli scacchi , published 1763 in Bologna...
or Ponziani
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani was an 18th-century Italian law professor, priest, chess player, composer and theoretician. He is best known today for his chess writing.-Life:...
), who in contrast to the French, advocated a free piece play, gambit
Gambit
A gambit is a chess opening in which a player, most often White, sacrifices material, usually a pawn, with the hope of achieving a resulting advantageous position. Some well-known examples are the King's Gambit , Queen's Gambit , and Evans Gambit...
openings and tactical complications and found some of the variations reported in the Analyse unsound (in particular those related with f7–f5 push in the Philidor Defence
Philidor Defence
The Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:It is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative to the common 2...Nc6...
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5?!). But also those of some of his disciples (Bernard, Carlier, Leger, and Verdoni), who met at the Café de la Régence
Café de la Régence
The Café de la Régence in Paris was an important European centre of chess in the 18th and 19th centuries. All important chess masters of the time played there.The Café' masters include, but are not limited to:* Paul Morphy...
, under the name of Société des Amateurs. In their book, Traité des Amateurs
Traité des Amateurs
Traité des Amateurs is the short name of the celebrated book Traité Théorique et Pratique du jeu des Echecs, par une Société des Amateurs, published in France in 1786 and subsequently translated into German and English....
, in fact, they embody many criticisms and comments upon his earlier printed book arguing that the variations reported by the Analyse are more instructive than correct. Nevertheless, the games of the Traité
Traité des Amateurs
Traité des Amateurs is the short name of the celebrated book Traité Théorique et Pratique du jeu des Echecs, par une Société des Amateurs, published in France in 1786 and subsequently translated into German and English....
can be regarded, together of those of Philidor as typical examples of the understanding of chess during the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
and the Société des Amateurs was much closer to Philidor than to the Modenese school.
Notable chess games
- Captain Smith vs François André Philidor, London, England 1790, Bishop's Opening: Berlin Defense (C24), 0–1 Good sample of Philidor's ideas about pawns; plus a nice mating combination at the end
- François André Philidor vs NN, Unknown 1749, Bishop's Opening: Boi Variation (C23), 1–0 This game—possibly a composition by Philidor—demonstrates the value of passed pawns
Final years
Philidor was stranded in England when the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
occurred. Because of many of his social connections mentioned above, the Revolutionary Government put him on the banned list. He died on August 31, 1795, in London and was buried in St James, Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
. A few days later, his relatives succeeded in getting his name removed from the list.
Chess situations named after him
Philidor's name is used for three well-known chess situations:- The Philidor defencePhilidor DefenceThe Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:It is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative to the common 2...Nc6...
opening which he advocated - Philidor's legacy, a type of smothered mate, which in fact was invented centuries before Philidor
- Philidor's position, another endgame position.
Battez Philidor !
A one-act opéra-comiqueOpéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
with music by Amédée Dutacq and libretto by Abraham Dreyfus entitled Battez Philidor ! (Beat Philidor!) was premiered on 13 November 1882 at the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
. Set in 1777, a poor musician is required to beat Philidor at chess before he can win the hand of his sweetheart. Although Philidor agrees to lose the match to help out, by distraction he nonetheless wins the game, although all turns out well for the lovers in the end. Battez Philidor ! also features Philidor's sometime collaborator A A H Poinsinet.
External links
- http://www.resmusica.com/aff_articles.php3?num_art=3098 http://www.resmusica.com/aff_articles.php3?num_art=3101 http://www.resmusica.com/aff_articles.php3?num_art=3100 http://www.resmusica.com/aff_articles.php3?num_art=3099 Philidor at Res musica
- Philidor at mjae.com
- Analyse du jeu des échecs (1777 edition, London) at Google Books.
- Analysis of the game of chess (1790 English edition, London) at Google Books.