Hi there.
In this lecture, we're going to look at a game of Philidor, so Philidor was one of the best players
in his day.
This game is from 1749.
So 18th century, one of the greatest players at the time.
And he had a phrase which people remembered today, -- of the song of chess.
So Philidor born 1726 up to 17, 95, often referred to as Andranik.
And Philidor was a French composer and a chess player.
He contributed to the early development of the opera KAMIK.
He is referred to as the best chance player of his age and he created a book, Analyze the Shenk's was
considered a standard chess manual for at least a century.
So yeah, he had some early ideas and he documented them and some of those ideas persist today.
But we're going to have a look at one of his most important contributions after a game example of his.
So this is against any kind of anonymous player, P45 Bishop, CIFOR Bishop, C5, Seefried.
So he's interested in the use of the pawns early on.
Not not a kind of more romantic era.
King's gambit.
He's using the pawns in a kind of positional way in this game of the night.
If things default, he takes he takes Bishop B sex.
He Frank Black just canceled.
There was an opportunity to take on EFORE, which is more theoretically correct.
It would break up White's pawns and get the piece back and black should be absolutely fine.
But he didn't do this.
So this kind of situation, for example, the pawns are broken up.
So White's pawn mobility in the center is significantly reduced.
This is just an example variation, but black kind of misses this opportunity for this little trick
here and also here.
There's another similar opportunity in 1984.
So black allows whites have a more fluid center, more dynamic, aggressive center which can push forward
with E5 soon.
Bishop defrayed D five E five and then night goes back.
So White Center is kind of aggressive and aggressive, which we see Bishop Efrain trying to persuade
C5 five, six and now quinsy too.
So this doesn't mind having just a single Plumridge there.
But look at the poor majority.
What has a poor majority for the two here?
It's quite pronounced in this position.
Black has a forty two on this side.
So it's actually kind of critical because it's a fourth to not just like one extra pawn.
If you split the board in half.
This is more critical for using the poor majority.
We see Bishop ESX, my for Queen seven and now an exchange of square bishops, which does give black
some activity on the official white council's 97 98 cents queen tax.
That's a potential blockading piece of these pawns which can potentially flow forward for ninety seven.
So at the moment E5 would be very vulnerable for a pawn, but it's supported g sex, putting the brakes
on any potential advances for the moment and ensuring the full and now 94.
This this is an interesting kind of tactics.
Behind the scenes moments we see age sex.
If Queen takes a to the point is it seems like the sex it would frighten bishops see for check.
It will be quite dangerous for black to do this.
For example, Queeny five before this situation gets unpleasant.
McAffrey hitting the Queen and F5 is a vicious, you know, king attack supported by that huge kind
of monster the night on D6.
So this kind of attack would be difficult to defend, impossible to the fans, you know, like meeting
room laughs.
I will be very, very difficult for the fans.
So it seems yeah.
That is a kind of poison sacrifice.
It's not taken.
And the same approach takes eight to five here and might have sex.
It's very dangerous for black because the rook would be hanging here if Queen takes Bishop C for within
the rock.
So Eighty-six and now White does actually do something about that form.
Be free B five G four.
Yeah.
This is expressing a keen.
Interest in using the pool majority, it's a 42.
It means that two connected passports could arise on a potential exchange.
On a five later we see 95, 93, 93.
And now the Bluefin in this pool, mobility is expressed here with a kind of positional exchange sacrifice.
So Brooke takes E3 was played.
And yeah, this this makes it more about what it spawns than before, potentially glasspool majority.
It does have double pawns.
So it's not as impressive as why it's majority on this side of the board.
That still falls, too.
But this is a sort of less convincing, Fredricka, because the double pawns black also can step up
the A2 form.
In fact, black does have certain resources in this position that don't actually undermine the free
as well.
Rookie one we see Queen be free.
Yeah.
So actually, black in theory does have dangerous passports, but it's why it's done now.
Queene for queeny six and F five.
So we see now the emergence of actually two connected pawns, pawns between the five.
It turns out here, if black was extremely resourceful, black does have an option of knocking out these
two connected passports here with Queen takes E5 instead and there should be absolutely fine for black
this situation.
It's a rook for a knight right now.
But if we look at this off the record for a while, White is under pressure and Black's pawns can be
made to be significant here.
For example, like this should be absolutely fine for this kind of situation.
But the pawns were allowed to live on off the Queen D5 so black, seemingly kind of oblivious to the
dangers expressed by the two connected past pawns here.
And that's the point.
The passport mobility was not very well understood.
Philidor, in this game seems more acutely aware of the long term impacts of connected passports he
takes on D5 gladly and then takes on B5.
So Black's pawns are kind of fragmented here.
Might be six.
Both whites are connected and very, very powerful.
They say, you know, a later quotation.
I believe passports on the sixth rank are worth their weight in gold as they progress, you know, they're
going to become a formidable force supporting each other to great potential Queens queening.
So Rokeby to have Bishop differing, haven't here one lost, you know, another lost saloon's shall
be free is interesting.
So this situation after 1994, even if Blank gives up the exchange there, if Black takes out one of
the connectives passports, then it veers to equality by blacks, kind of oblivious to these possibilities
of knocking out as a high priority a kind of strategic imperative.
These connected pawns, blacks really oblivious and it's not looking for that kind of thing, but instead
trying to kind of passively defend with seven we see Bishop five nights C4 and one night H5 Rogak Achak
Bishop G4 92 is played.
Here there is a blockading resource in besets because of ESX that can just be taken because of this
PIN Bishop that wasn't spotted or used.
So we have 92 instead.
And now the ones are really, really decisive.
Points can be made with them.
ESX the night supports the assets now, so they're making a very, very important and crushing advance.
So after a fight, we've seen a full tank.
KINGI Some Bishop H5 Yeah.
Just reinforcing and being able to play Eighty-seven is absolutely crushing, reinforcing f7 so the
game ended hefti for then just s7.
You can see that the two connected passports have triumphed if real things actually we can just here
without further ado.
So without further delay, it's interesting out.
Phil seems to be acutely aware from the opening of the importance of his poor majority, Black was kind
of oblivious to the importance of the --'s and it was like too late.
Once the pawns got mobile, they're extremely dangerous and winning essentially.
So it's an early game and it does show Philippos chess understanding.
He knew about the Center for Mobility and other major factors of the chessboard, which a lot of people
just only, you know, kind of attribute mainly to Stinnett's, you know, the first official world
chess champion.
But a lot of structural ideas were kind of discovered originally by Philidor.
So we have that expression, which is a shortcut.
You know, the pawns of the sort of chess, which is a major legacy by also has an opening named after
him and gain positions named after him.
So there's other legacies of in chess, a very, very important player in the evolution of chess.
So, yeah, I think the key lesson from this game example is, you know, think about the pawns, not
just the sacrificial lambs to be sacrificed just to open up the pieces.
They do play a more strategic role.
If you do have a poor majority, especially a more vivid, poor majority, like in this game of not
just one poll, but two points, the priority of creating connected pawns later should be in minds like
this game.
White was clearly aware of the dynamic potential of the pawns was black, was oblivious.
OK, that's too much.