Howard Staunton
English chess master and Shakespearean scholar (1810-1874) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Howard Staunton (1810 – 22 June 1874) was an English chess master. He was the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851.[1]p391[2] This is based on his 1843 match victory over the strongest French player, Saint-Amant. Staunton was the main organizer of the first international chess tournament in London 1851. It was organised to help celebrate the 1851 Exhibition at Hyde Park. These events helped to make London the world's leading chess centre. The winner of the tournament, Anderssen, then became recognised as the world's strongest player.
Howard Staunton | |
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Full name | Howard Staunton |
Country | England |
Born | April 1810 London |
Died | 22 June 1874(1874-06-22) (aged 64) London |
Staunton ran a chess column in the Illustrated London News from 1845 to his death in 1874. He edited the Chess Player's Chronicle, the first important chess magazine in English,[1]p297 from 1841 to 1854. He won matches against all the top players of the 1840s.
- "He wrote valuable books, particularly the Chess-player's handbook of 1847 which... became the standard reference book for English club players down to the end of the century".[3]
In 1847 he entered a parallel career as a Shakespearean scholar. Ill health and his two writing careers led him to give up competitive chess after 1851. In 1858 attempts were made to organise a match between Staunton and Morphy, but they failed. Morphy's biographer alleged that Staunton misled Morphy to avoid the match, but Staunton said he had retired from serious play.
Staunton's understanding of positional (strategic) play was far ahead of his rivals. His chess articles and books were widely read, and encouraged the development of chess. His Chess-Player's Handbook (1847) was a standard text-book for decades. He played and popularised two of the most important modern openings, the Sicilian Defence, and the English Opening. Staunton was a controversial figure in his time, and his chess writings could be spiteful. There is no doubt that he was the supreme figure in the chess world of the mid-19th century. His books, and his writing for newspapers and magazines, had world-wide influence.[1]