The defense of Philidor is a strategy that has become one of the most important achievements of Francois-Andre Danikan Philidor, thanks to which he immortalized the memory of himself and his last name.
Although an outstanding Frenchman became famoushis operatic activity and perky musical comedies. However, he was very fond of chess and spent much time on this game. He was of the opinion that it was not worth the risk and rashly attack. His tactic was expectant, he gradually built his planned offensive, leaving no chance to his opponents.
Philidor's defense is a steady, having many opportunities for pawn moves, a chess debut. It is successfully applied in response to 1.e4.
Despite the fact that there are a lot of variations in the arrangement of figures, there are a number of important factors:
When Philidor's defense is used, chessblack color gain a fairly strong status. Although the position is a little cramped, it is therefore not easy for them to create successful response moves. For this reason, this debut is not very popular, but many world-famous grandmasters still use this tactic from time to time.
Philidor's defense can fall into the "trap" if you apply the strategy of the game, developed by Legal.
Legal de Kermur - senior contemporary and teachera chess game of Francois Philidor. After losing only once to his talented student, he for the rest of his life held the position of the second strongest player in Paris.
The photo above shows an example of a possible arrangement of the figures with the "Legal mat".
Today there is also an upgraded version of this strategy. The difference from Legal's version is that White uses an extra pawn in the updated one.
| 1 | e4 | v5 | |
| 2 | Nf3 | db | |
| 3 | Bc4 | Nc6 | |
| 4 | Nc3 | Bg4 | |
| 5 | N: e5 ?! | B: d1 ?? | Great idea, but a terrifying mistake.The profitable queen obviously completely fascinated by Mr. Saint-Brie. Now, the idea of White with brilliance is realized on the board, whereas after 5. ... N: e5 Black was left with an extra piece. |
| 6 | B: f7 + | Ke7 | |
| 7 | Nd5x! |
Saint-Brie was so much disappointed with his loss that he jumped out of the hall, without even seeing the final white crushing move.
Most often, whites analyze the strategy of Philidor inat the very end of the game, since during the game they are busy with other tasks. Often, a rather weak-looking arrangement of black chess misleads the enemy, forcing him to relax and weaken his vigilance. White discovers that their position is losing, when they no longer get out of the trap.
In chess, the use of this strategy carries some risks, but often they are justified, therefore many well-known chess players take it to their arms.
Defense of Philidor in chess today continues to be a fairly strong tactic, often used even by world-class grandmasters.
