ANDRÉ DANICAN PHILIDOR
was born at Dreux, near Paris, in 1726. His grandfather was celebrated as an
oboe player at the court of LOUIS XIII. An Italian,
named PHILIDOR, was much admired by the king for his
superior performance on the same instrument; and, on his departure for
Italy, LOUIS gave. M. DANICAN
the sobriquet of PHILIDOR, which was ever
afterwards appended to the family name. - Our author's father and several of
his brothers were musicians in the bands of LOUIS XIV,
and LOUIS XV.
At six years of age PHILIDOR was admitted into the
choir of the Chapel Royal at Versailles; where, being obliged to attend
daily, he first began to play Chess. There were about eighty musicians
always waiting: and cards not being allowed in the sanctuary, they had a
long table inlaid with a number of Chess-boards; with which they amused
themselves during their leisure time. - It does not appear the PHILIDOR
ever studied Chess from books, though we know that he was acquainted with
the writings of SALVIO and other authors; but such
early and incessant practice as he enjoyed was quite sufficient to supersede
the necessity of pursuing any other mode of acquiring the game, particularly
when grafted on the genius of PHILIDOR. PHILIDOR
must have been a good musician at a remarkably early age, for when only
eleven years old, he composed a motette, which was performed in the Chapel,
and which was so much admired by LOUIS XV, that he
gave our precocious author five louis, which encouraged the child to
go on with his composing. When he had attained his fourteenth year, he left
the Chapel, and was then reputed as being the most skilled Chess-player of
the whole band. At this time several musical compositions of his were
performed at the Concert Spirituel, and favorably received by the Parisians,
as being the productions of a boy who was already master of the sciences of
harmony and Chess. As a teacher of music PHILIDOR
might now have established himself in a lucrative connection, but he applied
so closely to Chess, as entirely to neglect those pupils whom the kindness
of friends had procured for him; he consequently lost his scholars, but
attached himself to his favorite study with increased perseverance. The best
Chess-player then in France was M. DE KEMUR,
SIRE DE
LEGALLE, and young PHILIDOR
sought every opportunity of Receiving his instructions; by which he improved
so essentially, that in three years he played as well as his master. MONS.
DE LEGALLE happening once to ask
him whether he had ever tried to play without seeing the board, PHILIDOR
replied, that as he had calculated moves, and even whole games at night in
bed, he thought he could do it, and immediately played a game in this manner
with the ABBÉ CHENARD, which he
readily won, without being confused or hesitating on any of the moves. This
was a circumstance much talked of in Paris and he frequently repeated the
same method of playing. PHILIDOR then finding he could
readily play a single game, undertook to go through two games at once,
without looking
over the boards. Of this feat, which was performed in a public café, the
following account is given in the Encyclopédie
Française: -
"We had a Paris a youth of eighteen, who played two games of Chess at
the same time, without seeing either of the boards, beating two gentlemen,
to either of whom, he, though a first-rate player, could only give the
knight when looking over the pieces. We add a circumstance of which we
were eye-witnesses: - in the middle of one of these games a false move was
designedly made, which after a great number of moves he discovered, and
placed the piece where it ought to have been at first. This young man, the
son of a musician of repute, is named M. PHILIDOR;
he himself is a great musician and perhaps the best player at Polish
Draughts1 there ever was
or ever will be. We quote this as a most extraordinary example both of
memory and imagination."
1 PHILIDOR's
skill in Polish Draughts is rather over-rated by the writers of this
article, as we know that although a first-rate, he was note equal to M. LE BLONDE, and several other
great players of that day. - In a voluminous collection of critical ends
of games at Polish Draughts (published by DUFOUR,
Paris, 1806), I find six ingenious positions of PHILIDOR's
composition.
In 1745, PHILIDOR went to Holland with SIGNOR
LANZA, whose daughter, though only thirteen years of
age, was already celebrated as a fine pianoforte player. The famous GEMINIANI
was to meet them at Rotterdam, and the party united were to give a series of
concerts. SIGNORINA LANZA,
however, being indisposed, remained with her mother at Paris; and at
Rotterdam they received the melancholy news of her death. The concert scheme
being thus put an end to, PHILIDOR was left in a
foreign country almost penniless. He now had to find a temporary resource in
his skill at Polish Draughts (a game as well then as now universally played
throughout Holland), and supported himself by his knowledge of Chess and
Draughts during the twelvemonth he remained among the Dutch.
Our author paid his first visit to England in 1747. - The principle
Chess-club in London at that time held their meetings at Old Slaughter's
Coffee-House, in St. Martin's-lane. SIR ABRAHAM
JANSSEN was then the best player in England, and
indeed the best player PHILIDOR ever met with
excepting M. DE LEGALLE, as the
Baronet could win one game out of four, without taking odds of PHILIDOR.
After SIR A. JANSSEN the best
players were PHILIP STAMMA of
Aleppo (who wrote a clever book on Chess), MR. CUNNINGHAM,
LORD SUNDERLAND, LORD
GODOLPHIN, LORD ELIBANK,
MR CARGYLL, DR.
BLACK, DR. COWPER,
and MR. SALVADOR. During his
stay in London this year, PHILIDOR played a match of
ten games with STAMMA, giving him the move, allowing
the drawn games to be considered as won by STAMMA, and
betting him five to four on each game. With these immense odds in his favor,
the Syrian won only two games, of which one was drawn. - PHILIDOR
returned to Holland in the following year, where he composed his treatise
under the title ANALYSE DU JEU
DES ECHECS. At Aix-la-Chapelle
he was advised by LORD SANDWICH
to visit Eyndhoven, a village between Bois-le-duc and Maestricht, where the
British army was encamped. PHILIDOR there played Chess
with the DUKE OF CUMBERLAND, who
not only subscribed himself for a number of copies of the work, but procured
a great many other subscribers. PHILIDOR'S ANALYSIS
was first published in the French language, in London, 1749, and has been
since translated and reprinted in almost every capital in Europe.
In 1751, while PHILIDOR was a Windsor with the DUKE
OF CUMBERLAND, he introduced DR.
BLACK, who kept a school at Chiswick, as a first-rate
player to the DUC DE MIREPOIX,
the French Ambassador. The duke, who was a passionate admirer of Chess, was
so gratified with the doctor's society and style of play, that he generously
obtained for him a living worth £200 a year, which was in the gift of GEORGE
II. This year PHILIDOR went to Berlin, by
invitation of the soi-disant philosopher, FREDERICK of
Prussia, who saw him play Chess several times at Potsdam, but did not
encounter him himself. There a MARQUIS DE VARENNES
and another gentleman, who played even with the king, and of these PHILIDOR
could win, giving the knight. He remained at Berlin a short time, and then
went to PRINCE WALDECK's at
Arolsen, where he stayed eight months; and after paying a visit of three
weeks to the Court of the LANDGRAVE of Hesse-Cassel,
returned to London, where he remained some time, continuing to cultivate his
musical talent with increased success, and with approbation of the best
judges, including the immortal HANDEL. It is to be
regretted that to PRINCE WALDECK'S at Arolsen, where he stayed eight months;
and after paying a visit of three weeks to the Court of the LANDGRAVE of
Hesse-Cassel, returned to London, where he remained some time, continuing to
cultivate his musical talent with increased success, and with approbation of
the best judges, including the immortal HANDEL. It is to be regretted that PHILIDOR
never visited Italy; he would there have found Chess-players worthy of
contending with; and how interesting to the present generation would have
been a collection of games actually played between PHILIDOR
and PONZIANI or ERCOLE DEL RIO!
PHILIDOR returned to Paris in 1755 with the intention
of devoting himself entirely to music; and solicited the appointment of
Master of the Chapel Royal, where two new motettes of his composition were
performed; but as the Queen preferred the old school of music, he was
unsuccessful in his application; consoling himself, however, with the
compliments he received from the first professors and amateurs of the
musical art. About this time he played a match at Chess with M.
DE LEGALLE, and had the pleasure
of conquering his old master 1
1At the respected age of
eighty-five, M. DE LEGALLE was
still the best player in France, always excepting PHILIDOR.
In 1759, PHILIDOR's first musical drama, entitled,
BLAISE LE SAVETIER, was
performed at the Opera Comique with so much success that he wisely abandoned
church music, and applied himself wholly to writing for the stage; producing
a succession of new operas, which established his reputation as a clever
musician. It would be foreign to our work to give a list of these
compositions, which comprise more than twenty-five complete operas, and
numerous other musical publications.
PHILIDOR continued to follow up his success in
music for about seven years; and then, emboldened by his increasing
popularity, aimed at an entire change of the national musical taste; and
accordingly composed a tragic opera called ERNELINDA,
PRINCESS OF NORWAY,
with recitations and airs after the Italian manner. This piece was got up at
the Opera Comique; and, notwithstanding the cabals of the nobility, who were
bigoted to the old style of music (so ably satirized by JEAN
JACQUES ROUSSEAU), and the no
less important opposition of the principal singers and dancers, the piece
ran eight successive nights before it dropped. LOUIS XV
was so well pleased with this opera, that he rewarded the composer with the
munificent pension of twenty-five louis; which was regularly paid
during the life of the monarch.
PHILIDOR came to England for the fourth time in 1769;
and as in the interim Chess had become extremely fashionable here, he found
a new club instituted at the Salopian Coffee-house, where he frequently
played. Five years afterwards another club was established, next door to the
Thatched House Tavern in St. Jame's-street, which lasted many years.1
1 It is surprising, that
considering how much Chess is now played, or attempted to be played,
every endeavour to establish a Chess-club on a large scale at the west
end of the town, should have so completely failed. Perhaps the chief
reason of this is to be traced to the fact of the most devoted admirers
of the game, being those who cannot afford high subscriptions. Surely it
would answer the purpose of some enterprising man to open a handsome
Chess "Salon" on very moderate terms of admission - something like the
best Cigar Divans, without their Havannah atmosphere.
Soon after the beginning of this latter club several of the members made a
subscription among themselves, in order to remunerate PHILIDOR
for the time he lost in attending their meetings, The best players in this
club, and at that time in London, were COUNT BRUHL,
the HON. H. CONWAY
2, LORD HARROWBY,
MR. BOWDLER, and MR.
JENNINGS.
2 Afterwards LORD
HENRY SEYMOUR.
In playing over the board, the Pawn and two moves, or the Knight in
exchange for the first two moves, constituted the fair odds between these
gentlemen and their invincible visitor. The first match recorded as having
been played in public by PHILIDOR, without seeing the
board, was in 1782, when he played two games in this manner at once; the
following paragraphs are curious, as showing the sensation produced in the
Chess world by this interesting and then novel exhibition.
Extract from the Morning Post of May 28, 1782 -
"The celebrated MONS. PHILIDOR,
whose unrivalled excellence at the game of Chess has been long
distinguished, invited the members of the Chess-club, and the amateurs in
general of that arduous amusement, to be present on Saturday last at a
spectacle of the most curious kind, as it was to display a very wonderful
faculty of the human mind, which faculty, however, is perhaps at present
exclusively his own.
In consequence of this invitation, thirty gentlemen and three ladies
attended M. PHILIDOR at Parsloe's in St. Jame's-street,
where, in their presence, with his eyes closed, he contended with two
gentlemen at the same time, who had each a Chess-board, and who may be
deemed among the first players in Europe next to himself
1
1 And yet with this
conclusive evidence to the contrary, I have heard it asserted that these
gentlemen were not first-rate players. --Laterly PHILIDOR
could only give COUNT BRUHL
the Pawn and Move, but as he was then long past sixty years of age, it
may fairly be presumed that his extraordinary faculties were somewhat
dimmed . --COUNT BRUHL was
at this time decidedly the best player in Europe after PHILIDOR.
COUNT BRUHL was his
adversary at one board, and MR. BOWDLER
at the other, and to each was allowed the first move. - The games lasted
one hour and forty minutes. The game with the COUNT
was drawn, and MR. BOWDLER won
the other, owing to the exact similarity in the two openings, for if the
games had less resembled each other M. PHILIDOR
would have preserved a more distinct recollection.
The idea of the intellectual labour that was passing in the mind of M.
PHILIDOR suggested a painful perception to the
spectator, which however was quite unnecessary, as he seldom paused half a
minute, and seemed somewhat jocose through the whole, and uttering
occasionally many diverting pleasantries. The whole passed in the French
language.
When the intrinsic difficulty of the game is considered, as well as the
great skill of his adversaries, who of course conducted it with the most
subtle complications, this exertion seems absolutely miraculous, and
certainly deserves to be recorded as proof at once interesting and
astonishing, of the power of human intelligence."
Extract from THE WORLD, of
the same date.- After a very similar account of this match, the editor
proceeds thus:
"This brief article is the record of more than sport and fashion; it is
a phenomenon in the history of man, and so should be hoarded among the
best samples of human memory, till memory shall be no more.
The ability of fixing on the mind the entire plan of two Chess-tables,
with the multiplied vicissitudes of two-and-thirty pieces in possible
employment upon each table, that a man should maintain the two games at
once, without seeing either, but merely from the report of move after move
upon both; and this, contending not with bad and inexperienced play, but
with two of the best and most practiced players in Europe; all this makes
up a wonder of such magnitude as could not be credited, perhaps would not
be credible, without repeated experience of the fact.
This has been had from MONS. PHILIDOR
again and again, but never with more struggle, for his antagonists were COUNT
BRUHL and MR. BOWDLER.
They never were more excellent: how much resource there was, and guarded
enterprise, may be imagined from the time they took in playing. During the
whole of that period the memory of this astonishing man was never for a
moment absent nor confused: - he made not one mistake.
With all his great applause, it does not appear that PHILIDOR
was ever so far rewarded for his persevering energy in the
cause of Chess as to become, in a pecuniary point of view, independent of
his British patrons. We are assured by Twiss,
who lived long in habits of friendly intimacy with him (and from whose pages
I have largely borrowed), that PHILIDOR
would never allow any of his numerous family to learn the game their father
so excelled in. With a wife and NINETEEN
CHILDREN entirely dependent for many years upon his labours for their
livelihood, it was only by exercise of the most
unremitting energies of his peculiar talents, that music and Chess united
could be forced to yield their master more than a
very meagre competency. To the great detriment of his pocket, PHILIDOR
could neither spin around for a quarter-of-an-hour
on the point of his foot, nor play the devil's concerto on the fourth
fiddle-string: he contributed largely to the amusement of
that generation, and fortunately fared better than BURNS
or CHATTERTON.
During the ensuing years of his life, PHILIDOR
continued to reside in London every winter, and to return in the summer to
his family at Paris, playing matches occasionally without seeing the board,
and constantly winning of the best players who
opposed themselves to him. The ensuing article is extracted from a London
newspaper of May, 1783.
"Yesterday at the Chess-club in St. Jame's-street, MONS.
PHILIDOR performed one of those wonderful exhibitions
for which he is so much celebrated. He played three different games at once,
without seeing either of the tables. His opponents, were COUNT
BRUHL, MR. DOWDLER (the two best
players in London), and Mr. MASERES. He defeated COUNT
BRUHL in one hour and twenty minutes, and Mr. MASERES
in two hours; Mr. BOWLDER reduced his game to a drawn
battle in an hour and three quarters. To those who understood Chess, this
exertion of M. PHILIDOR's abilities must appear one of
the greatest of which human memory is susceptible. He goes through it with
astonishing accuracy, and often corrects mistakes in those who have the
board before them."
Between 1788, and 1792, PHILIDOR played eight
different matches in the same manner, each match consisting in general of
three games; and in 1792 he played two similar matches in the presence of
the Turkish ambassador. These latter games probably gave rise to the foolish
report of PHILIDOR's having been beaten by the Turk.
The only foundation that can be assigned for this, is a newspaper paragraph
which appeared after the death of PHILIDOR, and which
was ill-naturedly reprinted by Twiss in 1802. Had there been any truth to
this account, it would have certainly been made public during the life of PHILIDOR;
but, from its not having appeared immediately after the pretended incident
occurred, as well as from the manner in which it is worded, I have no doubt
of its having been the production of some petty slanderer, envious of the
reputation he thus meanly attempted to injure. The following is a wind-up of
this precious morçeau; it is a fine specimen of the beautifully ridiculous:
-
"After winning six games in succession of PHILIDOR,
the Ambassador told him that he knew several Chess-players at Constantinople
who were able to beat him, giving him the Rook ! ! "
Although now past the period when the human intellect is considered to be
at the height of its powers, PHILIDOR did not relax in
his exertions to promote Chess. In 1795, the last year of his life, our
veteran, then sixty-nine years of age, played three blindfold matches in
public. The last of these was announced by him in the daily papers as
follows: -
"CHESS_CLUB, 1795, PARSLOE'S,
ST. JAME'S-STREET.
"By particular desire, MONS. PHILIDOR,
positively for the last time, will play on Saturday, the 20th of June, at 2
o'clock precisely, three games at once against three good Chess-players; two
of them without seeing either of the boards, and the third looking over the
table. He most respectfully invites all the members of the Chess-club to
honour him with their presence. -Ladies and gentlemen not belonging to the
club may be provided with tickets at the above-mentioned house to see the
match, at five shillings each."
On Saturday, August 29, 1795, the public were informed of the death of
this unconquered, and indeed unrivalled Chess-player, in the following
article, which appeared in the daily paper.
"MONS. PHILIDOR, THE CHESS-PLAYER.
"On Monday last, the 24th of August, this long celebrated foreigner made his
last move - into the other world. For two months he was kept alive by the
art and the kind attention of an old and worthy friend. To the last moment
of his existence he enjoyed, though nearly seventy years of age, a strong
and retentive memory, which long rendered him remarkable in the circle of
his acquaintance in this capital.
"M. PHILIDOR was a member of the Chess-club near
thirty years, and was a man of those meek qualities that rendered him not
less esteemed as a companion, than admired for his extraordinary skill in
the game of Chess, for which he was preeminently distinguished.
"It is only two months since he played two games at the same time, against
two excellent Chess-players, and was declared the victor. He was, besides,
an admirable musician and a capital composer.
"What seemed most to have shaken the poor old man's constitution, and to
have precipitated his exit, was not being able to procure a passport to
return to Paris to see his family (who reside there) before he paid his last
debt to nature. This refusal was rendered still more bitter, on its being
intimated to him that he was denounced by the bloodthirsty committee of
French Revolutionists as a suspected character. From the moment he was made
acquainted with this circumstance he became a martyr to grief - his
philosophy forsook him - his tears were incessant - and he sank into the
grave."
G.W.
17, Soho Square, 1832
