Philidor (François André Danican Philidor, Paris 1726 – London 1795), was probably the best chessplayer of his time, and a notable composer of light operatic music. He was born into a family of musicians who served at the French court. He became the author of a book on chess which influenced players for many years.<ref name="H/W">Hooper, David and Whyld, Kenneth 1992. "The Oxford Companion to Chess". 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, </ref>