Howard Staunton

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(1) removed from infobox

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(2) Mark Weeks has material and sources at http://mark_weeks.tripod.com/chw01d15/2000-23.txt

"The Staunton Story" is at https://web.archive.org/web/20000819062645/http://chess.about.com/games/chess/library/weekly/aa091499.htm

Howard Staunton (April 1810 – 22 June 1874) was an English chess master who is generally regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape – the Staunton pattern promulgated by Nathaniel Cooke – that is still the style required for competitions. He was the principal organiser of the first international chess tournament in 1851, which made England the world's leading chess centre and caused Adolf Anderssen to be recognised as the world's strongest player.

From 1840 onwards he became a leading chess commentator, and won matches against top players of the 1840s. 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 Paul Morphy, but it never came about. It was alleged by British Chess Association president Lord Lyttelton that Staunton misled Morphy while trying to avoid the match; it is also possible Staunton overestimated his chances of getting physically fit and of making time available for a match.

Modern commentators consider Staunton's understanding of positional play to have been far ahead of his contemporaries. Although not a rampant attacking player, he attacked when his preparations were complete. His chess articles and books were widely read and encouraged the development of chess in the United Kingdom, and his Chess-Players' Handbook (1847) was a reference for decades. The chess openings the English Opening and Staunton Gambit were named for his advocacy of them. Staunton has been a controversial figure since his own time, and his chess writings could be spiteful. On the other hand, he maintained good working relationships with several strong players and influential chess enthusiasts, and demonstrated excellent management skills.

Life

thumb|left|200px|Staunton, c. 1860

Most information about Staunton's early life is based on claims he made. In the 1861 and 1871 English census, he claimed he was born in Keswick, Cumberland, located within the Lake District, which he listed as his birthplace in the 1851 census. In 1849, he listed William Staunton as his father on his marriage registration. Record of his birth or baptism has never been found.

The chess historian H. J. R. Murray summarised the information that he gleaned from various sources: Staunton was born in 1810, reputedly the natural son (meaning illegitimately born) of Frederick Howard, fifth Earl of Carlisle; he was neglected in youth, receiving little or no education; although he spent some time in Oxford, he was never a member of the university; when he came of age he inherited a few thousand pounds, which he soon squandered; in later life Staunton often used to tell how he had once played Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice, with the famous English actor Edmund Kean playing Shylock.

1843, competitive peak

Early in 1843 Staunton prevailed in a long series of games against John Cochrane, a strong player and chess theoretician.

A little later that year he lost a short match (2½–3½) in London against the visiting French player Saint-Amant, who was generally regarded as the world's strongest active player.

Staunton challenged Saint-Amant to a longer match to be played in Paris for a stake of £100, . Then he prepared new opening lines, especially those beginning 1.c4, which became known as the English Opening after this match.

Saint-Amant wanted a third match, but Staunton was initially unwilling as he had developed heart palpitations during the second match. Von der Lasa later suggested this was why Staunton faded in the second match. Staunton went to Paris intending to start their third match in October 1844, but he caught pneumonia while travelling and almost died; the match was postponed and never took place. Some contemporary English commentators, mainly in Staunton's Chess Player's Chronicle, and some later writers hailed Staunton as the world champion.<br/>

Sergeant expressed his concurrence with this assessment by stating

:"By his victory over Saint-Amant ... Staunton may fairly be held to have become unofficial chess champion of the world".

The response was less enthusiastic elsewhere in Europe. Even in England some writers suggested other players, notably Buckle or von der Lasa, were stronger.

1845–1848, chess writer and promoter

In 1845 Staunton began a chess column for The Illustrated London News, which became the most influential chess column in the world and which he continued for the rest of his life. Although his articles mostly focused on over-the-board play, a significant number featured correspondence chess. Some followed with enthusiasm the progress of promising youngsters, including Paul Morphy. Staunton produced over 1,400 weekly articles for The Illustrated London News. It contained over 300 pages of opening analysis, and almost 100 pages of endgame analysis. Staunton's Handbook was based on Bilguer and von der Lasa's Handbuch des Schachspiels (first published in 1843), but enhanced by many variations and analyses of Staunton's own.

He still found time for two matches in 1846, comfortably beating the professionals Bernhard Horwitz (fourteen wins, three draws, and seven losses) and Daniel Harrwitz. The match against Harrwitz was set up in a very unusual way: seven games in which Staunton gave Harrwitz odds of pawn and two moves (Staunton won four and lost three), seven games where he gave pawn and move (Staunton lost six and won one), and seven at no odds (Staunton won all seven). Anthony Saidy and Norman Lessing wrote that, "if a vote was taken among chess-players as to which pieces they most enjoyed playing with, ... the Staunton chessmen would win by an overwhelming margin."

1851, London International Tournament

thumb|right|300px|The front entrance of the [[Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London]]

Staunton proposed and then took the lead in organising the first ever international tournament, as he thought the Great Exhibition of 1851 presented a unique opportunity, because the difficulties that obstructed international participation would be greatly reduced. Staunton and his colleagues had ambitious objectives for this tournament, including convening a "Chess Parliament" to complete the standardisation of various rules and procedures for competitive chess and for writing about chess. Staunton also proposed the production of a compendium showing what was known about chess openings, preferably as a table. Before the tournament started Captain Kennedy and the Liberty Weekly Tribune in Missouri wrote that the winner should be regarded as "the World's Chess Champion".

thumb|upright=0.75|left| [[Adolf Anderssen]]

Despite the generally enthusiastic response, several major players were unable to participate, including von der Lasa, Saint-Amant and Cochrane. The committee had also organised a "London Provincial Tournament" for other British players, and "promoted" some of the entrants to play in the International Tournament to obtain the right number of players for a knock-out tournament. Staunton's defeat by Williams suggests that Staunton had over-stretched himself by acting as both a competitor and the Secretary of the organising committee.

In the mid-1850s Staunton obtained a contract with the publishers Routledge to edit the text of Shakespeare. This edition appeared in parts from 1857 to 1860, and Staunton's work was praised by experts.

Chess historian H. J. R. Murray wrote that Staunton's letter and article should have been interpreted as a courteous refusal of the offer, but that Morphy interpreted them differently, and one of the main reasons for his visit to Europe in 1858 was the hope of playing a match with Staunton. Some other chess historians disagree with Murray's interpretation of Staunton's response.

Upon arriving in England in June 1858, Morphy promptly challenged Staunton to a match. At first, Staunton declined Morphy's offer saying that the challenge came too late. and Staunton asked again for a delay of some weeks.

Around this time Morphy wrote to friends in the U.S. asking them to obtain the stake money for the Staunton match. Morphy's family refused to contribute as they "should not allow him to play a money match either with his own money or anyone else's", but the New Orleans Chess Club sent £500. Meanwhile, Morphy went to Paris to play against continental masters. In September The Illustrated London News printed both a complimentary full-page article about Morphy and a complimentary mention of him in its chess column. On 6 October 1858, while in Paris, Morphy wrote Staunton an open letter which was also circulated to several publications, in which Morphy complained about Staunton's conduct. Staunton replied on 9 October, re-stating the difficulties he faced, but now giving them as reasons to cancel the match.

Most of Staunton's later life was occupied in writing about Shakespeare, including: A photolithographic reproduction of the 1600 Quarto of Much Ado about Nothing in 1864 and of the First Folio of Shakespeare in 1866; and papers on Unsuspected corruptions of Shakespeare's text, published from 1872 to his death. All these works were highly regarded at the time.

When he died suddenly of heart disease, on 22 June 1874, he was at his desk writing one of these papers.

A memorial plaque now hangs at his old residence of 117 Lansdowne Road, London. In 1997 a memorial stone bearing an engraving of a chess knight was raised over his grave at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, which had previously been unmarked and neglected.

Assessment

Staunton has been a controversial figure ever since his own time. In the words of chess journalist Mark Weeks, "Staunton represents a unique challenge to chess history. Many players immediately associate his name with Paul Morphy, as in 'Staunton ducked a match with Morphy'. ... This is extremely unfair, as it concentrates the focus on Staunton to a relatively minor, factually controversial incident, while it ignores his significant achievements." As chess historian Edward Winter writes, "The issue of national bias does, unfortunately, require consideration in the Staunton–Morphy affair."

Staunton–Morphy controversy

Chess historians trace much of the 20th century animosity against Staunton to books by Sergeant about Morphy. Sergeant in turn relied on a book by Edge, who accompanied Morphy to Europe in 1858 as his secretary and personal assistant, but returned to the U.S. in January 1859, a few months before Morphy. Opinions of Edge's value as a historical source vary widely:

American chess journalist Daniel Willard Fiske, reviewing Edge's book, commented, "Mr. Morphy expressly disclaims any connection with it in any way or manner. ... will afford the reader a half-hour's entertainment".
Sergeant's books and David Lawson's Paul Morphy: The pride and sorrow of chess (New York, 1976) make extensive use of Edge's book, but note Edge's strong anti-Staunton bias. Lawson also suggests that Morphy had seen the manuscript of Edge's book, disliked its treatment of the Staunton affair so much that he disavowed it, and objected to Edge's treatment of other matters.
Chess historians H. J. R. Murray, David Hooper and Ken Whyld described Edge as unreliable and having an extreme bias against Staunton.

E.G. Winter summarized the situation by writing:

Some 20th century commentators have been more critical of Staunton. However some well-known chess writers, including Fred Reinfeld, Israel "Al" Horowitz and Reuben Fine, have been criticised by chess historians for their inaccuracy, both in general and specifically where Staunton is concerned. Edward Winter writes, "It is unwise for the 'non-playing' historian to publish his own analysis, although he may be a useful compiler. Similarly, players who are unversed in, and indifferent to, chess history should not touch it."

William Hartston wrote of Staunton's non-match with Morphy:

G. H. Diggle wrote in the British Chess Magazine:

Playing strength and style

thumbnail|A depiction of the chess match between Howard Staunton and Pierre Charles Fourrier Saint-Amant, on 16 December 1843

There is a famous story that Paul Morphy described Staunton as the author of "some devilish bad games". Chess historian Edward Winter traced this back to a book published in 1902, whose author said he had seen a copy of Staunton's The Chess Tournament in which Morphy had written "some devilish bad games" on the title page; Winter was unable to trace the copy. Around the time of Staunton's death, Morphy is said to have commented that Staunton may have been the strongest player of his time, had great analytical ability and judgement of positions, but lacked the imagination required to deliberately create opportunities for combinations.

Twentieth-century opinions of Staunton's play varied enormously. Fred Reinfeld, Al Horowitz, and Reuben Fine all condemned it.

In his book The World of Chess, Anthony Saidy refused to reprint a single Staunton game and said his style of play was mostly about the acquisition of material rather than strategic or analytical brilliance.

On the other hand, Savielly Tartakower wrote, "A remarkable feature of Staunton's play is the number of ultra-modern ideas with which he was familiar, e.g. the restricted centre, the fianchetto development, bilateral work, the theory of the local engagement, etc., and, last but not least, the English Opening (sometimes called the Staunton Opening)." Garry Kasparov considered Staunton "by the early 1840s ... superior to all his rivals". Bobby Fischer opined that "Staunton was the most profound opening analyst of all time. He was more theorist than player, but nonetheless he was the strongest player of his day ... . In addition, he understood all of the positional concepts which modern players hold dear, and thus – with Steinitz – must be considered the first modern player."

The website Chessmetrics ranks Staunton as world number one from May 1843 to August 1849, in the top ten from July 1851 to May 1853, and in the top five from June 1853 to January 1856.

From the early 1840s–1851 Staunton could successfully give odds to almost any UK-based player, including eventually John Cochrane; The closed English Opening got its name from Staunton's frequent use of it, especially against Saint-Amant in 1843. Former world champion Garry Kasparov commented that Staunton "founded and edited the magazine Chess Player's Chronicle ... wrote a chess column (1845–1874), studied opening theory ... published four remarkable books ... endorsed the famous 'Staunton pieces' ... organized the first international chess tournament in history ... ." However, British International Master William Hartston wrote that Staunton's many achievements were done "with the full weight of an arrogant and pompous nature which has scarcely been matched in the history of the game."

Even contemporaries sympathetic to Staunton admitted that he could be spiteful in response to unexpected defeats,

Chess journalism could be a bruising business in those days, even when Staunton was not involved. However it does seem that Staunton was involved in more than his fair share of chess disputes.

Staunton's enemies gave as good as they got.

H. J. R. Murray suggested that these frequent wars of words may have originated from leading players' and commentators' jealousy over Staunton's unexpected rise to the top in the early 1840s, and from snobbish disdain about his humble and possibly illegitimate birth.

On the other hand, Staunton's often-criticized description of Anderssen as Germany's second best player, after Anderssen had won the 1851 London International tournament, may have been reasonable on the basis of what is now known about von der Lasa's skill.

Despite the disappointing way in which his playing career ended, All subsequent international tournaments took place in Great Britain until Paris 1867. Staunton's Chess-Player's Handbook (1847) immediately became the leading English-language chess textbook. It went through twenty-one reprints by 1935, spawned several imitators, and remained in print (in a revised edition) until the 1940s.

Around 1888 Staunton's Chess: Theory and Practice, published posthumously in 1876, was regarded as modern in most respects, but there was a growing need for more up-to-date analysis of openings.

Staunton's obituary in The City of London Chess Magazine said:

Staunton's style and the openings that accompanied it were eclipsed by the more directly aggressive styles of Anderssen and Morphy, which dominated chess from 1851 until Steinitz unveiled his positional approach in 1873.

There is little evidence that Staunton had much direct influence on modern chess. Although he introduced the English Opening, it has been called "really a 20th century invention" that only became fully respectable after future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik began playing it in the 1930s. Similarly, although Staunton was an early champion of the Sicilian Defense, which is today the most popular opening, and the most successful response to 1.e4, Staunton seems to have had little influence on how the Sicilian is played today: He regarded it as a safe defensive line, while it is now treated as a vigorous but slightly risky counterattack.

Staunton introduced the Staunton Gambit against the Dutch Defence (1.d4 f5 2.e4). Although it was once a feared attacking line, it has been out of favour since the mid-1920s, and is thought to "offer White equality at best". Staunton also analysed a different gambit approach to the Dutch, 2.h3 followed by g4. In 1979 Viktor Korchnoi, one of the world's leading players, successfully introduced this line into top-class competition, but later authorities concluded, as Staunton had, that Black gets a good game with 2...Nf6 3.g4 d5

Staunton also advocated the Ponziani Opening 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3, which was often called "Staunton's Opening". It is rarely played today because it allows Black to choose between a sharp counterattack and a safe line that usually leads to a draw.

His other writings

Staunton's edition of Shakespeare's plays was respected.

Staunton Memorial Tournament

Between 2003 and 2009, a Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament was held at Simpson's-in-the-Strand, London, a restaurant which Staunton regularly visited in the 19th century to play and discuss chess (it was then a coffee house known as "The Divan" or "Simpson's Divan"). The 2008 tournament was the strongest to be held in London since 1986.

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Staunton's work on Shakespeare was highly respected nearly 50 years after his death, and was still cited in mid-20th-century articles.

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In 1852 Staunton wrote a book about London 1851 titled, The Chess Tournament. The title page to that book read, "By H. Staunton, Esq., author of The Handbook of Chess, Chess-players Companion, &c.&c.&c" to which in 1853 a fifteen or sixteen-year-old lad named Paul Morphy scribbled in his copy, "and some devilish bad games". If Staunton was famous for his achievement as the best chess player in the world during the period 1843–51, then after 1851 to his last days in 1874, he was most famous for his contribution in making England the capital of the chess world. In 1874 Morphy was more polite, and gave his estimate that Staunton's best gift was not in playing chess, but as a theoretician and analyst. In some ways Staunton's style presaged more modern methods; the English opening (1. c4) was so named because he often used it in the period 1840–50.

The American World Champion Robert Fischer, writing on Staunton more than a century later, had a similar opinion. "Playing over his games", Fischer said, "I find they are completely modern." So Staunton was actually well ahead of his time, playing in a style which would become known as the Hypermodern in the 1920s.

Birmingham 1858 was to be Staunton's last public chess competition. Staunton refused to play Paul Morphy in public during the latter's visit to England in 1858, saying he was too busy working on his Shakespeare annotations. By 1860 his edition of Shakespeare had been published. Staunton considered it a great work, but modern day critics do not agree, and Staunton is an obscure name in modern Shakespearean scholarship. Staunton also published a book in 1860 titled Chess Praxis, which to take advantage of the public's desire for Morphy material had over 168 pages of the American's games annotated by Staunton.

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Tournament results

Sources:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto;"

! style="width:50px;"|Date !! Location !! style="width:60px;"|Place !! style="width:60px;"|Score !! class="unsortable"|Notes

| 1851 || align=left| London International Tournament || 4 || --- || align=left | A knockout tournament in which the contestants played mini-matches in each round, increasing from best-of-three in the first round to best-of-eight in the final. Staunton was eliminated in the semifinal (−4=0+1) by Adolf Anderssen, who won the tournament. Staunton was then beaten by Elijah Williams in the play-off for third place.

| 1858 || align=left| Birmingham || --- || --- || align=left | A knockout tournament in which the contestants played three-game mini-matches in each round. Staunton was eliminated in the second round (−2=0+0) by the eventual winner, Johann Jacob Löwenthal.

Match results

<!-- Other topics

telegraph chess:

http://www.correspondencechess.com/campbell/articles/a030127.htm

Popert see:

https://books.google.com/books?id=iO0IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA187&lpg=PA187&dq=popert+chess&source=web&ots=9Af4Dhr__S&sig=ohfh6PqiIlFZ005ob8cRFr3BrZU&hl=en The Chess-player's Companion: comprising a new treatise on odds... by Staunton: 1 of best players in England; slow, cautious style; v good in defence

Self-criticism: The Chess-player's Companion, above

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Sources:

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| 1843 || Cochrane || Won || none || London || 14/18 || +14 =0 –4 || align=center |

| 1843 || Taverner || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 5/6 || ??? || align=center |  

| 1843 || Saint-Amant || Lost || none || London || 2½/6 || +2 =1 –3 || align=center |  

| 1843 || Brooke-Greville || Lost || P + 1 || N/A || 0/3 || +0 =0 –3 || align=center |  

| 1843 || Brooke-Greville || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 5/6 || +5 =0 –1 || align=center |  

| 1843 || Buckle || Lost || P + 1 || London || 1/3 || +1 =0 –6 || align=left |  

| 1843 || Saint-Amant || Won || none || Paris || 13/21 || +11 =4 –6 || align=center |  

| 1844 || Tuckett || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 7½/9 || +7 =1 –1 || align=center |  

| 1845 || Tuckett || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 7½/9 || +7 =1 –1 || align=center |  

| 1845 || Mongredien || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 3½/5 || +2 =3 –0 || align=center |  

| 1845 || Spreckley || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 3½/5 || +3 =1 –1 || align=center |  

| 1845 || Williams || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 3½/4 || +3 =1 –0 || align=center |  

| 1845 || Kennedy || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 8½/11 || +7 =2 –2 || align=center |  

| 1846 || Horwitz || Won || none || London || 15½/24 || +14 =3 –7 || align=center |  

| 1846 || Hannah || Won || Q Knight || N/A || 5½/8 || +5 =1 –2 || align=center |  

| 1846 || Daniel Harrwitz || Won || none || London || 7/7 || +7 =0 –1 || align=center |

| 1846 || Daniel Harrwitz || Lost || P + 1 || London || 1½/8 || +1 =1 –6 || align=center |

| 1846 || Daniel Harrwitz || Won || P + 2 || London || 4/7 || +4 =0 –3 || align=center |

| 1847 || Kenny || Drawn || Q Rook || N/A || 2/4 || +2 =0 –2 || align=center |  

| 1847 || Loewe || Lost || P + 2 || N/A || 2/7 || +1 =2 –4 || align=center |  

| 1847 || Medley || Won || P + 2 || N/A || 7½/10 || +6 =3 –1 || align=center |  

| 1851 || Carl Jaenisch || Won || none || London || 7½/10 || +7 =1 –2 || align=center |  

| 1851 || Elijah Williams || Lost || none || London || 7½/13 || +6 =3 –4 || align=center |

External links

The Howard Staunton Society
Edward Winter, Pictures of Howard Staunton
Edward Winter's "A Debate on Staunton, Morphy, and Edge" (Chess Notes feature article)
"The Staunton-Morphy Controversy" by Edward Winter