“Pawns are the soul of chess,” famously stated one of the greatest chess legends of all time. A prominent composer above all, Francois-Andre Danikan Philidor is still known as one of the godfathers of “opera comique.” His work in the palace of Louis XV in Paris helped him discover the wonderful game of chess in the legendary Cafe de la Regence.
Throughout the years his chess skills grew stronger, and he mercilessly proved his superiority among all the chess players. Back in the eighteenth century there were naturally no official championships, but the multiple over-the-board wins gave Philidor the rank of a world champion.
What was his secret? He clearly understood the game better than his opponents. His fundamental work “Analyse du jeu des Échecs” was considered the ultimate chess manual for a century to come.
What’s truly amazing is that many of the things that were written there remain relevant and accurate today. Everyone knows that “Philidor defense” in the rook endgames. Or the many positions in the rook and bishop versus rook endgame that the great Frenchman discovered.
But we are about to talk about another of Philidor’s great brain children, the defense, which is still named after him.
True, his main idea was to attack the center at once and prove that the pawns are more important than anything else. Like this:
Alas, this proved to be a bit too much, and a classical modern player would easily refute the whole concept with 4.d4!
But if we take the time machine and land two and a-half centuries forward, we will discover that none yet managed to refute the other version of the Philidor Defence:
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7
In fact, a lot of modern grandmasters choose to give it a try every now and then, proving it’s stability and viability.
The main tabiya of the Philidor Defence is being reached after 6.0-0 0-0 7.a4 c6 8.Re1
In this position, we shall take a look at the following plans:
8...a5 - we can name this the Solid Continuation
8...b6 - this can be referred to the Classical Line
And we shall check the modern ideas of bringing the black knight on b6 at various moments of the opening.
It will, however, be almost criminal not to pay serious attention to the arising pawn structures. Philidor himself will be offended, and rightly so, therefore, we will do our best to fill in these gaps.
The typical endgames would also be covered, as you have already noticed that I am offering a move order that can lead to an endgame on move four.
The sidelines won’t be missed either.
You get the gist of it.
More, at the course, I hope to see you there!
Technical Details
✅ Date: 2023, November, 17 - 19
✅ Training Platform: Zoom
✅ Coaches: GM Dejan Bojkov
Program
17.11.2023
Paris Time New York Time
19:30 - 21:00 13:30 - 15:00 - Typical Endgames - GM Dejan Bojkov
18.11.2023
Paris Time New York Time
15:30 - 17:00 09:30 - 11:00 - Typical Structures, Positional, and Tactical Ideas - GM Dejan Bojkov
17:30 - 19:00 11:30 - 13:00 - Rare Continuations for White - GM Dejan Bojkov
19:30 - 21:00 13:30 - 15:00 - Main Line - Setups with ...b7-b6 - GM Dejan Bojkov
19.11.2023
Paris Time New York Time
17:30 - 19:00 11:30 - 13:00 - Main Line - Setups with ...a7-a5 - GM Dejan Bojkov
19:30 - 21:00 13:30 - 15:00 - Main Line - Plans with ...Nfd7 - GM Dejan Bojkov
21:00 - 21:30 15:00 - 15:30 - Q&A Session with GM Grigor Grigorov and GM Petar Arnaudov
What You Get
✅ 9 hours of high-level training
✅ Access to Recordings and PGN files from the lectures
✅ Additional training materials related to the topics
✅ Access to the digital product related to the camp (available 2-3 weeks after the event)
✅ Voucher for 35 EUR at Modern Chess website
✅ Early Bird Registration - If you register before 15.11.2023, you get a discount of 25 EUR.