Staunton proposed and then took the lead in organizing 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. He may also have been motivated by reports that a few years earlier Ludwig Bledow had proposed to organize an international tournament in Germany, whose winner was to be recognized as the world champion. Staunton and his colleagues had ambitious objectives for this tournament, including convening a "Chess Parliament" to complete the standardization 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".
The organizers obtained financial contributions from Europe, the USA and Asia, enabling the committee to set up a prize fund of £500, equivalent to about £359,000 in 2006's money. Despite the generally enthusiatic response, several major players were unable to participate, including von der Lasa, Saint-Amant and Cochrane. Adolf Anderssen was at first deterred by the travel costs, but accepted his invitation when Staunton offered to pay Anderssen's travel expenses out of his own pocket if necessary. The committee had also organized a "London Provincial Tournament" for other British players, and "promoted" some of the entrants to play in the International Tournament in order to obtain the right number of players for a knock-out tournament.
The tournament was a success, but disapointing for Staunton personally; in the second round he was knocked out by Anderssen, who won the tournament convincingly; and in the play-off for 3rd place Staunton was narrowly beaten by his former pupil Elijah Williams. Staunton's defeat by Williams suggests that Staunton had over-stretched himself by acting as both a competitor and the Secretary of the organizing committee.
The London Chess Club, which had fallen out with Staunton and his colleagues, organized a tournament that was played a month later and had a multi-national set of players (many of whom had competed in Staunton's tournament), and the result was the same - Anderssen won.
In 1852 Staunton published his book The Chess Tournament, which recounted in detail the efforts required to make the London International Tournament happen and presented all the games with his comments on the play. Unfortunately some of Staunton's comments in the book and in the Illustrated London News were intemperate, because he was disappointed with the placing he achieved.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
1851, London International Tournament
1849, Marriage and design of a chess set
On July 23, 1849 Staunton married Frances Carpenter Nethersole, who had had eight children by a previous marriage.
In 1849 Nathaniel Cook registered a chess set design, and Jaques of London obtained the manufacturing rights. Staunton advertised the new set in his chess Illustrated London News column, pointing out that the pieces were easily identifiable, very stable, and good-looking. Each box was signed by Staunton, and Staunton received a royalty on each set sold. The design became popular, and has been the standard for both professional and amateur chess players ever since. 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.
1845-1848, Chess writer and promoter
In 1847 Staunton published his most famous work, The Chess-Player's Handbook, which is still in print. 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. His book The Chess-Player's Companion followed in 1849.
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).
1843, Competitive peak
A little later that year he narrowly lost a short match (2½-3½) in London against the visiting French player Saint-Amant, who was generally regarded as the world's strongest player.Staunton challenged Saint-Amant to a longer match to be played in Paris for a stake of £100, equivalent to about £73,000 in 2006's money. Then he prepared new opening lines, especially those beginning 1.c4, which became known as the English Opening after this match. He also took Thomas Worrall and Harry Wilson to Paris as his assistants; this is the first known case where seconds were used in a match. Staunton gained a seven-game lead but then struggled to keep it before winning the match 13-8 (eleven wins, four draws, and six losses) in December 1843 Saint-Amant wanted a third match, but Staunton was initially unwilling as he had developed heart trouble during the second match. Von der Lasa later suggested this was why Staunton faded in the second match.However after a long, difficult negotiation, which he reported in the Chess Player's Chronicle,Staunton went to Paris intending to start their third match in October 1844, but he caught pneumonia while traveling and almost died; the match was postponed and never took place.
Several modern commentators regard Staunton as de facto World Champion after his match victory over Saint-Amant, although that title did not yet formally exist. After Saint-Amant's defeat, no other Frenchmen arose to continue the French supremacy in chess established by Philidor, Deschapelles, La Bourdonnais and Saint-Amant.Some contemporary English commentators, mainly in Staunton's Chess Player's Chronicle, and some later writers hailed Staunton as the world champion.The response was less enthusiastic elsewhere in Europe. Even in England some writers suggested other players, notably Buckle or von der Lasa, were stronger
1836-1842, First steps in chess
In 1836 Staunton came to London, where he took out a subscription for William Greenwood Walker's Games at Chess, actually played in London, by the late Alexander McDonnell Esq. Staunton was apparently twenty-six when he took a serious interest in chess. He said that at that time the strongest players he saw in London, Saint-Amant and George Walker, could easily have given him rook odds In 1838 he played many games with Captain Evans, inventor of the Evans Gambit, and also lost a match against the German chess writer Aaron Alexandre. He had improved sufficiently by 1840 to win a match against the German master H.W. Popert,[3] a slow, cautious player with great defensive skill.
From May to December 1840 Staunton edited a chess column for the New Court Gazette. He then became chess editor of the magazine British Miscellany, and his chess column developed into a separate magazine, Chess Player's Chronicle, which Staunton owned and edited until the early 1850s.
Life
Most information about Staunton's early life is ultimately based on claims he made. His registration of birth has never been found. The chess historian H.J.R. Murray summarized the information that he "gleaned" from various sources: Staunton was born in 1810, reputedly the natural son 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.
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton (1810 - June 22, 1874) was an English chess master who is regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set that is still the standard. He was the principal organizer of the first international chess tournament in 1851, which made England the world's leading chess center and caused 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 Morphy, but they failed. It is often alleged that Staunton deliberately misled Morphy while trying to avoid the match, but it is also possible Staunton over-estimated his chances of getting physically fit and of making time available for a match.
Although not an all-out attacking player, Staunton was known for accurate attacks 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-Player's 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 showed excellent management skills.