Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani (9 November 1719 – 15 July 1796) was an Italian law professor, priest,

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

player, composer and theoretician. He is best known today for his chess writing.

Life

Ponziani was born in Modena in 1719. In 1742 he graduated in law at the University of San Carlo and was admitted to the College of Advocates in 1745. He was Professor of Civil Law at the

University of Modena The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia ( it, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Italy, founded in 1175, with a population of 2 ...

from 1742 to 1772 when he retired taking a pension and the title of honorary professor. In 1764 Ponziani took orders as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and in 1766 he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

in the

Modena Cathedral Modena Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta e San Geminiano but colloquially known as simply ''Duomo di Modena'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Modena, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint ...

. He became

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

in 1784, received the title of Protonotary Apostolic, and was made

Vicar Capitular :''See: Catholic Church hierarchy#Equivalents of diocesan bishops in law'' A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Roman Catholic particular church. Diocesan administrators in canon law The college of consultors elects an admi ...

in 1785. Ponziani died in Modena and is buried in the Modena Cathedral.

Chess writing

Ponziani was friend with fellow Modenese chess players and writers Ercole del Rio and

Giambattista Lolli Giambattista Lolli (1698 – 4 June 1769) was an Italian chess player and one of the most important chess theoreticians of his time. He is most famous for his book ''Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoco degli scacchi'' ( en, Theoretical ...

, and collectively the trio is known as the Modenese Masters. In 1769 Ponziani published the first edition of ''Il giuoco incomparabile degli scacchi'' (''The Incomparable Game of Chess''). As Ponziani did not include his name in this work (''Opera d'Autore Modenese'') it was identified to the Anonymous Modenese. The second edition in 1782 was much improved and laid out the principles of the Italian

school of chess A school of chess denotes a chess player or group of players that share common ideas about the strategy of the game. There have been several schools in the history of modern chess. Today there is less dependence on schools – players draw on many ...

as exemplified by 17th-century Italian masters such as

Gioachino Greco Gioachino Greco (c. 1600 – c. 1634) ( ελληνικά/greek: Τζοακίνο Γκρέκο), surnamed Cusentino and more frequently ''il Calabrese'', was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the earliest chess games kno ...

. Although Ponziani identified himself in the second edition, the 1820 translation by English naval officer J. B. Smith using the pen name J. S. Bingham, ''The Incomparable Game of Chess'', attributed the work to del Rio. Ponziani's work is the best practical guide produced by the Modenese Masters. Like writings by del Rio and Lolli, Ponziani deals only with the

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

and

endgame Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to: Film * ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film) * ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film * ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...

, with no discussion of the middlegame. In the opening, the primary objective is to obtain the maximum amount of

mobility Mobility may refer to: Social sciences and humanities * Economic mobility, ability of individuals or families to improve their economic status * Geographic mobility, the measure of how populations and goods move over time * Mobilities, a conte ...

for the pieces, aiming in particular for vulnerable points such as the f2 or f7 square. No importance is attached to formation or maintenance of a pawn center—pawns are used to drive back enemy pieces. In the opening, Ponziani is best known as the eponym of the

Ponziani Opening The Ponziani Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. c3 It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been discussed in the literature by 1497. It was advocated by Howard Staunton, generally consid ...

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3), although he did not originate it as it was published by

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the Provinces of the ...

around 1497. His name is properly attached to the Ponziani Countergambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 f5) in the Ponziani Opening as he published the first analysis in 1782.

Endgame studies

Ponziani's 1769 manuscript contained the

endgame study In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially uniq ...

above. White wins as follows: :1. Kf4 Kg7 :2. Kf5 Kh8 :3. Kg5 Or Ke6 or Ke5, but not Kf6?? stalemate. :3...Kg7 :4. h8=Q+! Kxh8 :5. Kf6 Kg8 :6. g7 Kh7 :7. Kf7 and wins. Irving Chernev. ''Practical Chess Endings''. New York: Dover, 1961. Page 23. Ponziani (1782) also gave an example of an endgame ''blockade'' or fortress, in which the inferior side is able to hold a

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...

despite having only two

minor piece Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory * Minor chord ** Ba ...

s for the queen by hemming in the opposing king. (''See Pawnless chess endgames, Queen vs. two minor pieces''.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponziani, Domenico Lorenzo 1719 births 1796 deaths Italian chess players Italian chess writers 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Apostolic pronotaries People from Modena