Named after a player who listened.

François-André Danican Philidor, 1726-1795. Court musician, composer of comic operas, and the strongest chess player of his century. We took his name for one sentence, and for what it says about how to make a good set.

Dreux 1726 · London 1795

A choirboy at Versailles

Philidor was born in Dreux on 7 September 1726, into a family of royal musicians. At six, he joined the Royal Chapel at Versailles, where he discovered music and chess.

At fourteen, he moved to Paris, gave music lessons and began frequenting the famous Café de la Régence.

The Café de la Régence

At the Café de la Régence, near the Palais-Royal, Diderot, Rousseau and Voltaire would meet. There Philidor met Kermur de Legal, who at first gave him a rook's advantage, and none at all three years later.

Philidor became famous by playing several blindfold games at once. Diderot nicknamed him “Philidor the subtle”.

London, 1749: a book that changed the game

In 1749, in London, Philidor published *L'Analyse du jeu des Échecs* (Analysis of the Game of Chess), a book reprinted for more than a century. In it he states: “Pawns are the soul of chess.”

Unlike the players of his day, who favoured the major pieces, Philidor showed the importance of pawns, of supporting them and of controlling the centre to win a game.

The composer

Back in Paris, Philidor composed more than twenty comic operas, including *Blaise le Savetier* (1759), *Tom Jones* (1765) and *Ernelinde* (1767).

He divided his life between music and chess, playing regularly in London. He died there on 31 August 1795, prevented from returning to France by the Revolution.

What this name obliges us to do

We make chess and backgammon sets in solid wood. We chose the name of Philidor, a man who knew that what matters is hidden in the details.

The weight of the pieces, the felt, the grain of the wood and the stability of the board: every detail counts. These are the finishes we devote our craftsmanship to.

Today

The Maison Philidor creates chessboards and backgammon sets in solid wood, shaped by hand in France by its partner workshops.

Every piece is carefully tested, with precise dimensions and a five-year guarantee. Lasting creations, designed to be played, kept and passed on from generation to generation.

DISCOVER THE SETS

MAISON PHILIDOR

PAWNS ARE
THE SOUL OF CHESS.

PHILIDOR, ANALYSIS
OF THE GAME OF CHESS,
LONDON, 1749.