Several other varieties of the game arc specified, in which the advantage given by one player to the other, consists in allowing him it Ri cavallo, or la Donna earal lo that is, that his king or queen may likewise move like the knight. But in the opinion of adepts, the simple form of the game is the best ; and is sufficiently compli cated to call forth all the ingenuity of the players. One amusing variety, however, still deserves to be mentioned, in which the king, with eight pawns, engages the whole set, on condition of being allowed two moves for every one of his adversary. In this case he can make his first move into check, and his second out of it, by which he has a great advantage; and he cannot be check-mated unless his adversary has preserved his queen and both castles.
The annals of chess record some extraordinary per formances of certain adepts at this game, who were accus tomed formerly to make a livelihood of their art. Such as Paolo Boi, commonly called the Syracusan, who played at chess with Sebastian, king of Portugal ; and at the court of Philip II. of Spain ; and his cotemporary Leonardo of Cutri, known by the appellation of it Put tino, or the boy. The fame of all these, however, seems to have been exceeded by that of Mr Philidor, whose ex hibitions have been made in the presence of many persons still living. This extraordinary chess-player was bred a musician, in the band of the French king ; a situation which his father and grandfather had enjoyed before him. At six years of age he was admitted among the children of the chapel•royal of Versailles, where, being obliged to attend daily, he had an opportunity of learning chess from the musicians in waiting, of whom there were about eighty. Cards not being allowed so near the chapel, they had a long table with six chess-boards inlaid. Young Philidor soon became greatly attached to the game ; and having obtained instructions from Mr de Le galle, who was esteemed the best chess-player in France, he thought of trying to play by memory, having found that he was able to calculate moves, and even whole games at night, while he was lying in bed.
He soon after this offered to play two games at the same time, at a coffee-house in Paris, without seeing either board; and succeeded so well, that he beat two antagonists, to either of whom he, though a first rate player, could only give the advantage of a knight when seeing the board. In the middle of one of the games, a
false move was purposely made to try his skill, which, after a great number of moves he discovered, and placed the piece where it ought to have been at first.
Forty years after this he played two different times in London, three games at once. Of one of these exertions, the following account appeared in the London news papers in May 1783: Yesterday, at the chess club in St James's street, Mr Philidor performed one of those wonderful exhibitions for which he is so much celebrated. Ile played, at the same time, three different games, with out seeing either of the tables. His opponents were, Count Bruhl, Mr Bowdler, (the two best players in •ondon,) and Mr Mascres. He defeated Count Bruhl in an hour and twenty minutes. Mr Bowdler reduced his game to a drawn battle in an hour and three quarters. To those who understand chess, this exertion of Mr Philidor's abilities must appear one of the greatest of which the human memory is susceptible. He goes through it with astonishing accuracy ; and often corrects mistakes in those who have the board before them. Mr Philidor sits with his back to the tables, and some gen tleman present, who takes his part, informs him of the move of his antagonist, and then, by his direction, plays his pieces as he dictates." In 1747, Mr Philidor played a match of ten games with Stamina, a celebrated chess-player from Aleppo, giving him the move, allowing a drawn game to be a lost one, and betting five to four on each game. With all these advantages, Stamina won only two games, of which one was a drawn game. Yet it has been asserted, that, towards the close of his life, this wonderful adept at chess, was so beaten by a Turk whom he met with in the suite of an ambassador from the Sublime Porte, that the mortification which he felt from his defeat had the effect of hurrying on his end. (n)