Osservazioni sopra il giuoco degli scacchi – Lolli – 1763 | First Edition | Chess Manual

Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoco degli scacchi by Giovanni Battista Lolli is a 1763 chess manual. This folio was the only edition of Lolli’s work, a work that covers major classical openings such as the King’s Gambit, Giuoco Piano, and the Two Knights Defense. It also contains one hundred endgame problems, one of which later appeared in Wilhelm Heinse’s novel Anastasia und das Schachspiel. It is known to have the first printed record “Lolli’s Mate”, a tactical queen-and-pawn checkmate sequence still studied today, that was named after Lolli himself.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoco degli scacchi, ossia Il giuoco degli scacchi esposto nel suo miglior lume
• Author(s): Giovanni Battista Lolli
• Illustrator(s):
• Contributor(s):
• Publisher: Bologna, Nella stamperia di s. Tommaso d’Aquino
• Edition: First and only edition, 1763
• Format: Folio (single volume)
• Binding: Full vellum
• Size:  2.25 in x 9 in (31.1 cm x 22.9 cm)
• Collation: [2], 632 pp
• Illustrations:
• Contents Include:
  • Giuoco Piano, King’s Gambit, Two Knights Defense
  • Rook and bishop versus rook endgame
  • example of Lolli’s Mate, author’s namesake move
• Provenance: stamp – Liverpool Chess Club
• Reference(s): references

Condition:

Very Good. Bound in full vellum with a secure spine. Slight pulling at the base of the front hinge. Pages show moderate age toning. Page 340 is untrimmed, though fully attached and stable.

Why Collect This?

• First and only edition by noted Italian chess theoretician
• Contains one of the earliest recorded examples of “Lolli’s Mate”
• Of interest to collectors focused on classical game theory

Item Number: # 29300