Chess. PIACENZA. I campeggiamenti degli scacchi.

Small 4to.  215 x 160 mm. 20th-century full parchment binding. Pages [2, Frontispiece], 132, including the Title page, [3], 1 blank. Portrait of the author on the Frontispiece, coat of arms of the dedicatee Francesco Costanzo Costa as head-piece, Initials and tail-pieces, 3 diagrams and 2 illustrations in the text, all printed in woodcut. Bookplate on the pastedown. A fine copy.

First and only very rare edition. The author discusses the history of chess in antiquity and in various countries, then explains the rules and tactics of the game. Gay: “expose ... une modification du jeux des echecs d'apres le sisteme de Carrera.” Like other Italian chess players, Piacenza also introduced a variation of the game, inventing an archchessboard of 100 squares and 40 pieces with the introduction of two new pieces: the Centurion and the Decurion. The illustrations in the text show a board with 64 squares on p. 29, a diagram on p. 59, a board with 100 squares "Forma del Arciscacchiere" on p. 112, the Centurione on p. 124, the Decurione on p. 127. Francesco Piacenza (1637-1687) was an Italian chess player, a doctor of civil and canon law, a professor of geography, and a secretary for the Catholic Church.