the favorite pastime of the cloister and the court. In this connection it is worthy of note that Chess is the only game of the kind that has always been approved by the priesthood of all faiths; Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, and Moslem. In Philidor's day, during the first half of the Eighteenth Century, it was the custom in Europe for the musicians at the royal chapels to amuse themselves with Chess when their services were not required during High Mass; and it was for this reason that the name of Philidor has lived in the history of Chess rather than in the history of music, for he was a great musician as well as a remarkably skilled Chess player.
Since the invention of the game, five thousand years ago, its development may be said to have undergone three distinct periods. The first lasted until about 600 A. D., and during that time it was played by four persons, the move of each Chessman being about the same as it is now, but a dice was thrown to decide which
