Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani

Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani (* 9 November 1719 in Modena; † 15 July 1796 in Modena) was a professor of civil law at the University of Modena, a clergyman and an important chess player of the 18th century.

Together with the two Italians Ercole del Rio and Giambattista Lolli, he founded the School of Modena, which consisted of these three leading masters.

In 1769, his work Il giuoco incomparabile degli scacchi (The incomparable chess game) was published (without authorship) in Modena, in which he offered a profound analysis of the game in general and of endgames in particular. His book, in which he propagated the free play of pieces, made an important contribution to the development of the modern conception of the game in the 18th and 19th centuries. Reprints of this work were published in Venice in 1773, 1801 and 1812. In 1782, he had a new edition printed in Modena, now with authorship. This work was also reprinted several times: Rome 1829, 1838, Verona 1837, Venice 1861.

An opening is named after Ponziani: 1. e2-e4 e7-e5 2. Sg1-f3 Sb8-c6 3.c2-c3. Although this style of play is already mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript and by Giulio Cesare Polerio, it was Ponziani who particularly recommended it in his book Il giuoco incomparabile.

He also drew attention to the following gambit: 1. e2-e4 e7-e5 2. Lf1-c4 Sg8-f6 3.d2-d4 (the Ponziani gambit in the bishop's game).

Die Schwalbe wrote about him:

Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani (9.11.1719-15.7.1796) was born into an Italian patrician family 300 years ago. After studying law, he was offered a professorship at the university in his home town of Modena at the age of 24, which he swapped in 1766 in favour of a career in the service of the church. Ponziani was interested in chess for a long time, with records dating back to at least 1749, 20 years before the publication of his book Il giuo\-co incomparabile degli scacchi, which also contains a section on endgames. Alongside Ercole del Rio and Giambattista Lolli, Ponziani was one of the founders of the Modena School, which had a major influence on the development of chess in Italy.

Source: wikipedia.de