Pietro Carrera (July 12, 1573 – September 18, 1647) was an Italian

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, historian, priest and author.

Biography

Pietro Carrera born in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, in Militello in Val di Catania ( Province of Catania), located in the Valley of Noto; here he grew up in the old colony of San Vito. He was the son of Donna Antonia Severino (mother) and Mariano Carrera, a traditional craftsman who entered the priesthood after his wife's death. During his studies in the Seminario Diocesiano of Siracusa, he had the opportunity to visit many different Sicilian cities. As a result of his travels he met

Paolo Boi Paolo Boi (1528–1598) was an Italian chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest chess players of the 16th century. In 1549, he beat Pope Paul III in a chess match. Early life He was born in Syracuse, Sicily (now Italy), a ...

, so-called "The Siracusan", in the town of Palermo during 1597. After taking his vows, he first become the chaplain at the church of S. Maria della Stella and later of

Francesco Branciforte Francesco Branciforte Barresi (15 March 1575 – 23 February 1622) was an aristocrat, Marquis of Militello and 4th prince of Butera, as well as a notable patron of the arts and sciences in Sicily. Biography He was born in Militello in Val di Cat ...

's Court (the Prince of Pietraperzia and Marchese of Militello). During his stay at Branciforte's Court he became interested in chess, winning against Salvatore Albino the so-called "Beneventano" and against Geronimo Cascio. Cascio won against the famous but old Polerio. After developing a fond relationship with the Prince's wife, Lady Giovanna, he composed a short poem for her in Latin in hexameter form regarding chess. Only fragments of this poem, the title being "The Pessopedia", remain today. In 1617 he wrote and published ''Il Gioco degli Scacchi'' (''The Game of Chess''), subdivided into eight books where "learning the

rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pert ...

, the

odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

, the endgames, the

blindfold chess Blindfold chess, also known as ''sans voir'', is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces and do not touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces. Moves are commu ...

and a discussion about the true

origins of chess The history of chess can be traced back nearly 1500 years to its earliest known predecessor, called chaturanga, in India; its prehistory is the subject of speculation. From India it spread to Persia. Following the Arab invasion and conquest ...

in itself". This was the first book ever printed in Militello, on request of his patron Branciforte, by Giovanni Rosso from Trento; in this poem Carrera collected and elaborated in a systematic fashion information given by previous authors. After the Prince of Branciforte's death in 1622, he moved to

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in t ...

, then to Canicattì and finally to Catania. Here in 1635, using an alias, he published the "Risposta di Valentino Vespaio contro l'apologia di

Alessandro Salvio Alessandro Salvio (c. 1575 – c. 1640) was a leading Italian chess player in the early 17th century. He started a chess academy in Naples, and wrote a book called ''Trattato dell'Inventione et Arte Liberale del Gioco Degli Scacchi'', which was ...

" ("Valentino Vespaio's answer against Alessandro Salvio's explanation"), where he debated the accusations and criticisms made against him from Salvio. Famous and esteemed, he died on September 18, 1647 in Messina. Carrera is also remembered as the inventor of

chess variant A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...

(Carrera's chess) on an 8x10

chessboard A chessboard is a used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During play, the bo ...

, in which there were added two new pieces called the "Champion" (a combination of the moves of the tower ( rook) and the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

) and "Centaurus" (a combination of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and the knight); these innovations had more fame than the ones made by Piacenza and Marinelli. It was a predecessor of

Capablanca Chess Capablanca chess (or Capablanca's chess) is a chess variant invented in the 1920s by World Chess Champion José Raúl Capablanca. It incorporates two new pieces and is played on a 10×8 board. Capablanca believed that chess would be played out i ...

. He is not remembered as a great live player but as a master of

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may ...

and a great source of information regarding contemporary players of his time.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carrera, Pietro 1573 births 1647 deaths People from Militello in Val di Catania Writers from Sicily Chess players from Sicily 17th century in chess Chess theoreticians Italian chess writers Sportspeople from the Province of Catania Religious leaders from the Province of Catania

Biography

See also

References