PHILIDOR (born Sep-07-1726, died Aug-31-1795, 68 years old) France [what is this?] Philidor (né François André Danican) Born: Dreux, France Died: London, England His grandfather was a Hautboy-player at the Court of Lewis XIII. An Italian Musician named Philidor, was admired at that Court for his performance on the same instrument; and after his departure the King gave Mr. Danican the Sobriquet or nick-name of Philidor, which has still remained in the family. His father, and several of his brothers, belonged to the band of Lewis XIV and Lewis XV.(1) He was both a chess and musical prodigy—his first musical composition was played before King Louis XV when he was only 11 years old. He was taught chess by Kermur Sire De Legal, who initially gave him rook odds, until the young Philidor became too strong for his teacher. In 1744 Philidor played two chess games blindfolded simultaneously in public in Paris, a feat never before known to have been accomplished. In 1749 his "Analysis of Chess" was published in London, the first chess book to explain the openings, the middlegame, and the general strategy of chess. The book claimed that Les pions sont l'ame du jeu, a phrase that became widely known as 'the pawns are the soul of chess', a maxim known to chessplayers ever since. Three different important endgame positions are known as the Philidor position.(2) One of them, illustrating a defensive technique in the rook and pawn versus rook ending, is among the most fundamental endgame positions.(3) Philidor's analysis of the Philidor position in the rook and bishop versus rook ending, demonstrating a complicated and difficult win for the superior side, is perhaps the most profound analysis of an endgame up until that time. Philidor's name is also associated with a standard chess tactic commonly known as Philidor's Legacy, a smothered mating pattern involving a queen and knight. However this is only a traditional name, as the tactic first appeared in print by a book by Luis Ramirez de Lucena. Sources (1) Chess, "Anecdotes of Mr. Philidor Communicated by Himself", Twiss, London 1787, p149 (2) Wikipedia article: Philidor position (3) 100 Endgames You Must Know, Jesus Maria de la Villa Garcia, New in Chess. References Wikipedia article: Francois-Andre Danican Philidor; List of Operas by Philidor: Wikipedia article: List of operas by Philidor; YouTube recording of Philidor's Sancho Panza (1762) / Opera-bouffon in one act / Opera LaFayette: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHzP... Last updated: 2025-08-19 13:01:19

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page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 51  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Philidor vs NN 1-0 28 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C30 King's Gambit Declined 2. Philidor vs NN ½-½ 24 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit 3. Philidor vs NN 1-0 52 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C33 King's Gambit Accepted 4. Philidor vs NN 1-0 23 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C33 King's Gambit Accepted 5. Philidor vs NN 1-0 22 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham 6. Philidor vs NN 0-1 44 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham 7. Philidor vs NN 0-1 40 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham 8. Philidor vs NN 1-0 23 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C32 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit 9. Philidor vs NN 1-0 40 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C23 Bishop's Opening 10. NN vs Philidor 0-1 32 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C41 Philidor Defense 11. NN vs Philidor 0-1 28 1749 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C41 Philidor Defense 12. Philidor vs NN 1-0 16 1750 Analyse du jeu des Échecs C38 King's Gambit Accepted 13. Bernard / Carlier vs Philidor 1-0 32 1780 Consultation Game 000 Chess variants 14. J Bruehl vs Philidor 0-1 47 1783 Philidor Blindfold Simul 3b, London C23 Bishop's Opening 15. F Maseres vs Philidor 0-1 58 1783 Philidor Blindfold Simul 3b, London 000 Chess variants 16. T Bowdler vs Philidor ½-½ 51 1783 Philidor Blindfold Simul 3b, London B20 Sicilian 17. Philidor vs J Bruehl ½-½ 49 1787 Casual game, rook odds for pawn and move 000 Chess variants 18. J Bruehl vs Philidor ½-½ 44 1787 Philidor Blindfold simul, 2b London C23 Bishop's Opening 19. Leycester vs Philidor 0-1 29 1788 Casual game, knight odds 000 Chess variants 20. Leycester vs Philidor ½-½ 79 1788 Casual game, knight odds 000 Chess variants 21. Leycester vs Philidor 1-0 49 1788 Casual game, knight odds 000 Chess variants 22. de Beaurevoir vs Philidor   0-1 56 1788 Casual game, odds of pawn and two moves 000 Chess variants 23. de Beaurevoir vs Philidor   0-1 37 1788 Casual game, odds of pawn and two moves 000 Chess variants 24. Leycester vs Philidor 0-1 35 1788 Odds London 000 Chess variants 25. Philidor vs J Bruehl 0-1 20 1788 Casual game, rook odds for pawn and move 000 Chess variants  page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 51

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 7 OF 12 ·  Later Kibitzing> Jul-23-07    whiteshark: Here is a 'petit' endgame <<Philidor> vs <D. Browdler>, London 1749> click for larger view White draws with <1. Ne3 a3 2. Nd5 f1Q 3. Nc7+ Kf8 4. e7+ Kg7 5. e8Q Qf8+ 6. Qxf8 Kxf8 7. Ne6+> Sep-01-07    laskereshevsky: HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandpa! And thanks....cause without you, i strongly suspect that still today we'll playing chess "throwing wildly" the pieces..... and sacrifing tonns of pawns for nothing.... Just in the hope of same unclear chances to catch king. Sep-07-07    sneaky pete: <Biographer> Other sources, like Ken Whyld, Wikipedia and <vonKrolock>, give September 7, 1726, as his birthday. Sep-07-07    D4n: Philidor was one of the the first greats... Sep-10-07    nimh: Could somebody explain what's fundamentally wrong in Philidor's idea of pawn phalanx? Would you recommend it even today at least at club level? Sep-13-07    James Demery: I`m such a patzer nimh that I don`t even know what Philidor`s idea of pawn phalanx is. Can you tell me what you`ve heard? Sep-13-07    chessamateur: <whiteshark> I haven't checked this or anything so I'm probably wrong but it is possible for black to play for a win with something like 1. Ne3 a3 2. Nd5 f1Q 3. Nc7+ Kf8 4. e7+ Kg7 5. e8Q Qf6+ 6. Ne6+ Kh6 ? click for larger view Maybe Black can promote the pawn now and win? Sep-13-07    chessamateur: Never mind your correct but, this at least tests the opponent a little more. Sep-15-07    nimh: <James Demery> Progressive pawn chains supported by pieces behind which in some way resembles ancient Greek battle formation - the phalanx. Sep-15-07    James Demery: I don`t think anyone ever proved Philidor wrong nimh. I think Philidor died in the 1790`s and in the 1850`s with the rise of Morphy saw the open game come to the fore. I`m curious if a GM came along that was as adept at pawn play as Philidor how successful would he be? Oct-21-07    ketchuplover: This page doesn't exist via chessgames.com. I'm able to see it because it was sent to my email. Oct-21-07    Amulet: <Philid0r: Imagine: Philidor vs. Bobby Fisher. Who wins? i think Phili would kick fisher's ass. He was the greatest ever. Anyone agrees?> I disagree. I think Fisher will kick his ass from France to Iceland. LOL. Jan-17-08    Shams: which is a more tedious argument: creation vs. evolution, or "who would win between chessplayer <x> and this other guy who lived centuries beforehand?" tough call indeed. Jan-17-08    Knight13: <Philid0r: Imagine: Philidor vs. Bobby Fisher. Who wins? i think Phili would kick fisher's ass. He was the greatest ever. Anyone agrees?> I disagree, too. Fischer would beat this guy 20-0 BLINDFOLDED. Mar-06-08    Alphastar: <Knight13> Obviously Philidor would win game 1 since Fischer wouldn't agree to the terms of the match and proceed to not show up at the first game. Mar-07-08    timhortons: http://contregambitphilidor.blogspo... .......these french guy is obsessed by these gambit named after these great champion, i was surprised to see my icc handle in his blog and my lost game Mar-07-08    timhortons: timhortons: [Event "ICC 5 0 u"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2008.01.11"] [White "timhortonsknigt"] [Black "rodent"] [Result "0-1"] [ICCResult "White forfeits on time"] [WhiteElo "1588"] [BlackElo "2139"] [Opening "Philidor: Philidor counter-gambit, del Rio attack"] [ECO "C41"] [NIC "KP.08"] [Time "01:45:57"] [TimeControl "300+0"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5 4. dxe5 fxe4 5. Ng5 d5 6. e6 Bc5 7. Nf7 Qf6 8. Bb5+ c6 9. O-O cxb5 10. Nxh8 Bxe6 11. Nc3 Nc6 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Qxd5 Nge7 14. Qxc5 O-O-O 15. Be3 Rd5 16. Qa3 b4 17. Qb3 a5 18. a4 g5 19. c4 Rd3 20. Qc2 Nf5 21. Rad1 Ncd4 22. Bxd4 Nxd4 23. Qb1 Ne2+ 24. Kh1 Rh3 25. Qxe4 Rxh2+ 26. Kxh2 Qf4+ 27. Qxf4 Nxf4 White forfeits on time 0-1< i lost these game but always find delight on how we played it on 5 minute time control, our game is always on these gambit! the one posted in his blog is different from these game> Mar-07-08    timhortons: click for larger view <final position> Mar-12-08    Amulet: <laskereshevsky: HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandpa! And thanks....cause without you, i strongly suspect that still today we'll playing chess "throwing wildly" the pieces..... and sacrifing tonns of pawns for nothing.... Just in the hope of same unclear chances to catch king.> Nice poem! Mar-26-08    Knight13: You can buy Philidor's "Analysis of the Game of Chess" here http://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Ches... (cost $40-45 at the moment). Aug-11-08    whiteshark: Quote of the Day " If it is too cold or wet I take shelter in the Cafe de la Regence and amuse myself watching people playing chess. Paris is the place in the world, and the Cafe de la Regence the place in Paris where this game is played best, and at Rey's the shrewd Legal, the crafty <Philidor> and the dependable Mayot sally forth to battle. There the most amazing moves can be seen and the poorest conversation heard, for if you can be a man of wit and a great chess-player like Legal you can also be a great chess player and an ass like Foubert and Mayot. " -- Denis Diderot Foubert and Mayot are so far not in this db. Aug-12-08    nfwbyf: nfwbyf: One more game for those who is interested in Philidor's oeuvre: Philidor gave move and a pawn odds [Event "?"] [Site "London"] [Date "1975.?.?"] [White "George Atwood"] [Black "F Philidor"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [Opening ECO "Chess variants"] 1.e4 ... 1.d4 e6 2.f4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3 Qb6 6.Bd3 Nh6 7.Qb3 c4 8.Qb6 ab6 9.Bc2 b5 10.b4 Bb4 11.cb4 Nb4 12.Kd2 Nc2 13.Kc2 b4 14.Bd2 Ra4 15.h3 Rf8 16.g4 Nf7 17.Ng5 Ng5 18.fg5 Rf2 19.h4 b5 20.h5 b3+ 21.Kb2 b4 22.g6 hg6 23.hg6 Ba6 24.Rh8+ Kd7 Sep-07-08    brankat: R.I.P. Master Philidor. Sep-07-08    artyom2008: happy bday Jan-02-09    WhiteRook48: Slogan: Go 4 Philidor the Chess master ♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙ ♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘ ♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗ ♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖ ♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕ ♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔ FAVORITE PIECE: a pawn Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 12) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 7 OF 12 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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