Jean-Louis Preti (1798 – 27 January 1881)[1] was a musician and chess writer, specializing in the chess endgame.[2][3]
Born in Mantua, Italy, Preti studied music and became a flutist. Involvement in a political conspiracy against Austria caused him to flee Italy in 1826.[2][3] Settling in Bordeaux, France, he was appointed first flutist at the city theater and developed an interest in chess.[3] After eighteen years in Bordeaux[2] he moved to Paris and ran an export business.[3]
In Paris in 1867 Preti founded the famous monthly chess magazine, La Stratégie, which he edited until 1875.[2][4] His son Numa Preti (27 February 1841, Bordeaux – 28 January 1908, Argentuil)[1] succeeded him as editor from 1875 to 1907. Henri Delaire (16 August 1860, Paris – 27 October 1941)[5] edited the magazine from 1907 until it stopped publishing in 1940.[2][3]
Preti's primary work in the endgame was Traité complet, théorique et pratique sur les fins de parties au jeu des échecs (Paris 1858).[3] He also coauthored three books with Philippe Ambroise Durand, including the two-volume Stratégie raisonné des fins de partie (1871–1873). These were the first books devoted to the practical endgame, and included concepts such as conjugate squares and the opposition.[2]: 117
