“THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOK ON THE MODERN GAME”: PHILIDOR’S ANALYSIS OF THE GAME OF CHESS, 1819, IN ORIGINAL BOARDS

(PHILIDOR, A.D.) KENNY, W.S. Analysis of the Game of Chess, by A.D. Philidor, Illustrated by Diagrams… With Critical Remarks and Notes by the Author of the Stratagems of Chess. Translated from the last French Edition. London: T. and J. Allman, 1819. Octavo, original drab paper-covered boards, late 20th-century paper spine and spine label, uncut.

1819 English translation of Philidor’s L’Analyze du jeu des échecs, with engraved frontispiece portrait of Philidor and illustrative chess diagrams, in original boards.

French composer Philidor was the “best chess player of the 18th century… In 1749, at the age of 23, he published L’Analyze du jeu des échecs. The book formed the basis of the first Russian work on chess. Philidor was the first writer to explain the reasons for particular moves” (Bill Wall, Off the Wall). L’Analyze is considered “the most influential book on the modern game” (Hooper & Whyld, 303). An English edition of L’Analyze was first published in 1750; this edition is a translation of Montigny’s 1803 annotated edition.

“Philidor’s real secret weapon was his fundamentally different way of looking at the board. ‘Pawns,’ Philidor declared, ‘are the very soul of the game.’ It was a brilliant piece of counterintuition. Philidor suggested that the Pawns, which at first glance seemed so powerless as to be expendable, could, working in concert with one another, actually exert more influence than any single piece on the board. He made Pawn structure a priority above all else, putting Pawns into diagonal arrangements to defend one another and supporting them from behind with the more prominent pieces. Slowly, his formidable Pawn fence would then creep up the board, squeezing the opponent’s pieces on the other side and placing some Pawns in strong contention for promotion at the back row. Implemented correctly, this flexible strategy could defuse virtually any brilliant tactical combination wielded by an opponent” (Shenk, The Immortal Game, 97). The “Author of the Stratagems of Chess” referred to in the title is Montigny; the publisher of this edition had previously issued an English translation of Stratagèmes des échecs in 1817; Stratagems proved so popular that an additional three editions were published in 1817 and 1818. Montigny’s first name is unknown. Whyld & Ravilious 1819:11. Justice Chess Collection 99. Bookplate of chess book collector James J. Barrett. Owner signature, gift inscription.

Interior fine. Only light rubbing to edges of original boards. Near-fine condition. Extremely scarce, especially in original boards.