[Event "DevelopmentOfTheory(EncyclopediaBritannicaVol15): Philidor-Bruhl (1789)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/EuIv1Nw4/Sdrrv6Vv"] [Result "*"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/suzyahyah"] [FEN "rnbqkbnr/ppppp1pp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.12.29"] [UTCTime "18:28:38"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/EuIv1Nw4/Sdrrv6Vv"] [Orientation "white"] { Philodor and the birth of chess theory: Philodor believed that the significance of the pawns had been overlooked and commented that "pawns are the very life of the game". Philodor believed that a mobile mass of pawns is the most important positional factor in the middlegame and that an attack will fail unless the pawns to sustain it are properly supported. While previous authors had shown how pawns or other pieces could be temporarily sacrified in checkmating or material-gaining combinations, Philidor illustrated the purely positional sacrifice in which a player obtains compensation such as superior piece mobility or pawn structure. The following game (odds-given with White Knight and Black f7 pawn missing) is one of the best examples of his theory about powers of mobile pawns and one of the first examples of a kingside pawn storm. } 1. e4 d5 { Black's move is particularly good here, since White has no Knight on b1 to play 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 } 2. e5 Bf5 3. g4 Bg6 4. h4 { White can afford this advance, because 4.. h5 weakens g6, a hole that can be exploited by 5.d4 and 6.Bd3 } 4... c5 5. h5 Bf7 6. c3 e6 7. f4 Nc6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 Bb4+ 10. Kf2! { White rejects 10. Bd2 Bxd2 11. Qxd2 Qa5 and realizes his king is safe on f2 behind the pawn shield. } 10... Nge7 11. Nf3 a6 12. a3 Ba5 13. b4 Bb6 14. Be3 O-O 15. Bd3 Kh8 16. Kg3! { This clears the second rank for the other rook to attack } 16... Qd7 17. Ra2 Bg8 18. Bb1 { This allows White queen to prepare the d-pawn, and prepare Nh4-g6 sacrifice to open the h file. } 18... Nd8 19. Nh4 Nf7 20. Ng6+! Nxg6 { If 20... hxg6 21. hxg6 Nh6 22. g5 opening the h-file. } 21. hxg6 Nh6 22. Rah2 { White threatens g5->Qh5 } 22... hxg6 23. Bxg6 Bh7 24. Qb1! Rae8 25. Bxh7 Re7 26. Bg6 Kg8 27. g5 Nf5+ { Black resigns } *