– 4 June 1769) was an Italian chess player. Lolli was one of the most important chess theoreticians

Chess theory

The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played...

 of his time. He is most famous for his book Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoco degli scacchi (Theoretical-practical views on the game of chess), published 1763 in Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

. He was one of the Modenese Masters

Modenese Masters

The Modenese Masters are three 18th-century chess masters and writers:* Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani * Ercole del Rio and* Giambattista Lolli ....

.

Openings

Lolli's book contains analyses of chess opening

Chess opening

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...

s, in particular the Giuoco Piano

Giuoco Piano

The Giuoco Piano is a chess opening beginning with the moves:Common alternatives to 3...Bc5 include 3...Nf6 , 3...Be7 , or 3...d6 .-History:...

. Against the Two Knights defense

Two Knights Defense

The Two Knights Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves: in the late 16th century, this line of the Italian Game was extensively developed in the 19th century....

, the line 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. d4 is named the Lolli Variation. In the King's Gambit

King's Gambit

The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn so as to build a strong centre with d2–d4...

 the variation 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5. Bxf7+ is designated after Lolli. It illustrates the Italian masters' style of uncompromising attack, which clearly differs from the rather more strategic considerations taken by, for example, the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 chess player Philidor

François-André Danican Philidor

François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...

.

Endgames

In addition, the book contain listings of 100 chess endgames. One of these positions was used by Wilhelm Heinse

Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse

Wilhelm Heinse , German author, was born at Langewiesen in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen ....

 in his novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 Anastasia und das Schachspiel (English: Anastasia and the game of chess). This Lolli Position is from the pawnless endgame of a rook and bishop versus a rook. Although this endgame is a draw

Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

 in general, White to move wins in this position . Lolli also studied some defensive fortresses

Fortress (chess)

In chess, the fortress is an endgame drawing technique in which the side behind in material sets up a zone of protection around their king that cannot be penetrated by the opponent. This only works when the opponent does not have a passed pawn or cannot create one, unless that pawn can be stopped...

 and the queen versus pawn endgame.

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