The Modenese Masters were three 18th-century
chess master
A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...
s and writers from
Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
:
*
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani (9 November 1719 – 15 July 1796) was an Italian law professor, priest, chess player, composer and theoretician. He is best known today for his chess writing.
Life
Ponziani was born in Modena in 1719. In 1742 he gra ...
(1719–96)
*
Ercole del Rio
Domenico Ercole del Rio (c. 1718 – c. 1802) was an Italian lawyer and author. He published a 110-page chess book in 1750 which was the basis of a work by Giambattista Lolli thirteen years later. He composed many chess problems. He was ...
(1718–1802)
*
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- ...
(1698–1769)
Together they were known as the "
Modenese school of chess" . They recommended playing the
Italian Game
The Italian Game is a family of chess openings beginning with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nc6
:3. Bc4
This opening is defined by the of the white bishop to c4 (the so-called ""), where it attacks Black's vulnerable f7-square. It is part ...
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
* , ...
. In contrast to
Philidor's idea of
pawn structure and
mobility, the Modenese school emphasized rapid
development of the pieces for an attack on the opposing
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
, aiming for
checkmate
Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game.
In chess, the king is ...
or winning
material
Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geologi ...
in the process .
See also
*
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 ...
References
*
*
18th century in chess
Modena
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