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

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

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 (), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1175, with a population of 20,000 students. The medieval university disappeared b ...

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

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and in 1766 he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

in the Modena Cathedral. He became

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

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

Vicar Capitular A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic part ...

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 List of chess players, chess player and one of the most important Chess theory, chess theoreticians of his time. He is most famous for his book ''Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoc ...

, 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 as exemplified by 17th-century Italian masters such as

Gioachino Greco Gioachino Greco ( – ), surnamed Cusentino and more frequently ''il Calabrese'', was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the earliest chess games known in their entirety. His games, which never indicated players, were q ...

. 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: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

and endgame, 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. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5, e5 :2. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3, Nf3 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc ...

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

Lucena Lucena (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially known as the City of Lucena (), is a highly urbanized city situated in the Calabarzon region (Region IV-A) of the Philippines. The city is the largest urban center and capital of ...

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 type of chess problem that starts with a composed position—i.e. one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—where the goal is to find the essentially unique way for ...

here with King and two pawns versus King. White wins as follows: :1. Kf4 Kg7 :2. Kf5 Kh8 :3. Kg5 Or Ke6 or Ke5, but not Kf6??

stalemate Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position ...

. :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) gave an example of an endgame ''blockade'' or

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

, in which the inferior side is able to hold a draw despite having only two minor pieces for the queen by hemming in the opposing king. (''See Pawnless chess endgames, Queen vs. two minor pieces''.) Another problem from Ponziano(1782).

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 18th-century chess players