Ponziani, Domenico Lorenzo. Il Giuoco incomparabile degli Scacchi, sviluppato con nuovo metodo, per condurre chiunque colla maggiore facilità dai primi elementi sino alle finezze più magistrali. Opera d'Autore Modenese, divisa in tre parti. Seconda Edizione purgata, ed arricchita di nuovi moltissimi lumi, e scoperte. Modena, Bartolomeo Soliani, 1782. 

With 3 illustrations and some woodcut vignettes in text. 1 white page, VIII, 242 pages, 1 errata page. L/N 527; van der Linde I, 375; Schmid, pp. 276 f.

Domenico Ponziani (1719–1796) was a professor of civil law, one of the leading Italian authors of the 18th century, and the best-known representative of the Modena chess school. With his work "Il Giuoco incomparabile degli Scacchi," he made an important contribution to chess theory. Ponziani advocated free piece play, with pawns paving the way for the pieces. The "Ponziani Opening" is named after him. This 2nd edition was expanded and significantly improved by him compared to the 1st edition. The author is also named in the new preface.

"The whole is divided into three parts, the first of which contains general rules and a valuable critique by well-known authors of the time. The second part, again divided according to the openings, then follows the Giuoco piano with the various castling moves, the bishop play and the changes in the knight game, the irregular openings, the King's Gambit, and the fifth section, the Queen's Gambit... The final part contains the regular endings and 50 artificial endgames, which, like the openings, are distinguished by the exceptional precision with which they are worked... This second Modena edition is considered the best." (Schmid, p. 276)

Condition: From David DeLucia's Chess Library. Rare edition. Three pages of contemporary manuscript at end of book.