(1810-1874)
World Chess
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2016
Howard Staunton was a latecomer to chess, only starting to play seriously at the age of 26. Despite this obstacle, he developed into one of the best players of the 1840s and eventually worked to standardize rules of chess across nations. Staunton popularized his ideas in The Chess-Player's Handbook (1847), The Chess-Player's Companion (1849), and Chess Praxis (1860) as well as in the Illustrated London News chess column he authored from 1845 until his death. Staunton also organized the first modern international tournament (London 1851) and wrote a book about its events. The now-standard tournament chess piece design, first produced by Jaques of London and which Staunton helped to popularize, bears his name.
Image courtesy of the John G. White Chess Collection at the Cleveland Public Library
