An English translation (from the French) of Philidor's "Analysis of the Game of Chess" was published in 1790. I recently downloaded a scanned copy in PDF format from google books. Although the book uses an especially cumbersome form of descriptive notation, I quickly realized that much of the author's advice remains valid and instructive. But to be readily accessible to a modern audience, the moves and analyses in the book would need to be recast in PGN (portable game notation). I didn't find a PGN version already available, so I decided to create my own.
Please let me know if you find any transcription errors in my version. Once I have a sufficiently error-free version, I'll probably try to find a more permanent home for it, perhaps at google books.
Scope and Caveats
This file includes every game (and game fragment) that has the usual starting position and either is annotated or is an offshoot of an annotated game.
Expressing the notes in algebraic notation necessitated some recasting of the text, but I've tried to retain the author's intent.
I infer that these games and game fragments are constructed, but I'm not certain.
Some of Philidor's material that I haven't transcribed might nonetheless be valuable to the serious chess student, such as the analysis of king, rook, and bishop against king and rook.
Terminology and Conventions Used by Philidor
Either color could go first. I made the first player White everywhere.
"Back game" refers to an offshoot of a main game or game fragment.
"Change" is often used to mean "exchange."
"Double check" is often used to mean "double attack with check."
Significant Tags within the PGN