Howard Staunton

Howard Staunton (April 1810 - June 22nd 1874) was famous a British player of failures and not-official world champion of failures. He was also chronicler in a newspaper, writer and disciple of Shakespeare. Its name evokes today the style of parts of failures which it approved, the Staunton model.

Biography

One knows little of his life before his appearance in the universe échiquéen. He simply said that he had been born in the Westmorland and that his/her father prénommait William. He was actor in his youth. But he interpreted only the role of Lorenzo in the Marchand of Venice and played with the very famous British actor Edmund Kean.

Staunton had apparently twenty-six years when it started to take interest for the play. It is established that in 1836, Staunton was with London and that it took out a subscription to the book of William Walker Games At Chess, actually played in London, by the late Alexander McDonnell Esq. . At that time, it was still, according to its terms, a rook player Two years later, in 1838, it played of many parts against the captain William Evans, inventor of the Gambit Evans. He also played a part, which he lost, against Aaron Alexandre, player of failures and German writer.

From May in December 1840, it writes articles in the heading “Failures” of the New Court Gazette . It had then sufficiently improved its play to play and gain a match, of only one part, against the German Master Popert. He also writes for the British Miscellany , which in 1841 led it to found the magazine of failures known under the name of Chess Player' S Chronicle and that he directed up to 1854, when Robert Barnett Brien succeeded to him.

In 1842, it disputed hundreds of parts against John Cochrane, very a good player. It was for Staunton an excellent drive for what was to be its greater success with the failures the following year. In 1843, he played a fast match against the champion of France, Pierre Saint-Lover, in visit in London; he lost by 3,5-2,5, but one agreed on a revenge which was to take place in Paris. From November 14th to December 20th, 1843, Staunton again met Saint-Lover with the Café of Regency and beat it on a score without call, 13-8. After this defeat of Saint-Lover, no other French replaced it to defend French supremacy with the failures which had started with Philidor, and it is London which became the new world capital of the failures. Staunton was recognized semi-officially like the best player of the world of 1843 to 1851. It went to Paris the following year to meet Saint-Lover again, but suffering of a severe Pneumonie, which did not cease harming its health, it had to cancel the match at the last minute. They were to meet never again.

In 1845, Staunton started to hold a heading of failures for the Illustrated London News , which it continued the remainder of its life. This heading échiquéenne was read in the world. April 9th, Staunton, London representative, gained a part by telegraph (alternative of part to the blind man against players which was at other places) against a group of five or six people, which reflect approximately eight hours to finish the part.

Staunton played of the matches against less strong players in their giving the advantage of a pawn and two features, but he played also against of the Masters like Horwitz and Harrwitz in 1846, by beating them both.

In 1847, Staunton wrote its work considered as best, The Chess-Player' S Handbook , which was not printed before 1993. Another book, The Chess-Player' S Companion followed in 1849.

In 1849, Nathaniel Cook conceived a set of failures with a certain form for the parts and the rights were acquired by John Jaques who reserved them for his company, Jaques off London. Staunton spoke about this new handset in its heading of failures of the Illustrated London News. Each play was sold accompanied by a booklet written by Staunton which received a royalty on each sold play. The design, very attractive, became popular and the figurines of Staunton became since the standard play for the players of failures, as well professional as amateurs.

In May 1851, London accommodated the Great Exposure; the community of the players of failures of London was then under development full and was most active of the world, it felt obliged to do something of analog for the failures. Staunton was then given the responsability to organize the first chess tournament of the world, which would be held in London at the same time as the Great World Industrial Exposure. The idea was to invite the principal Masters who hoped the world to contribute between them, in order to be used as springboard with the failures in the same way that the Great Exposure would be used as springboard to the technology and the culture of the world. He persuaded some amateurs of failures of London and joins together £500 - an vain sum at the time - to help with the organization of this event.

Although the club of failures of London had refused to send somebody to take part in the competition, this meeting of 1851 in London was not less one success, in spite of the disappointment of Staunton which, after being itself beaten during a whole month against fifteen other players of failures of world class, was eliminated by that which was to be the final winner, Adolf Anderssen, then beaten for the second place by its former student Elijah Williams. It is sure that the great time of Staunton had now passed, but its reputation as principal authority of the world as regards failures was reinforced among the amateurs thanks to its books and with the promotion which it made of itself in its headings of failures. However, it was not completely exceeded, and proved it the same year by taking its revenge on Williams that it beat by six victories with four and one tie, and by crushing Karl Jänisch in a meeting by seven victories with two and one tie.

In 1852, Staunton wrote on the Tournament of 1851 in London one entitled book, The Chess Tournament . One can read on the , title page “By H. Staunton, Esq., author off The Handbook off Chess, Chess-players Companion, &c.&c.&c ”, and in 1853, a boy of fifteen or sixteen years named Paul Morphy gribouilla following these words on his specimen, “and of some parts terribly bad”. If Staunton had reached the celebrity to have succeeded in becoming of 1843-1851 the best player of failures of the world, after 1851 and until its death in 1874, which was worth the most reputation to him was to contribute to make of England the world capital of the failures. In 1874, Morphy was shown more polished and estimated that where Staunton was endowed the most, it was not as player, but as theorist and analyst. Under certain aspects the style of Staunton lets predict more modern methods; the English Ouverture (1. c4) is called thus because it often used it during the time 1840-50.

In 1853, Staunton went on a journey to Brussels to meet there the baron Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. They discussed on the standardization the rules failures and played a short match, which finished in favor of the baron, five victories with four with three matches null.

As from 1856, Staunton started to move away from the failures and to turn to the study of Shakespeare of which he wanted to make his principal occupation. It secured a contract with an editor to write an annotated edition of work of the bards. Unfortunately, its ego did not enable him to give up its desire to appear among the elite of the Masters of failures, even if in itself it were to have understood that the level of the largest Masters improved quickly, and that it was not the case for him. It entered again in string while playing in 1858 an organized tournament to Birmingham under the auspices of the new British Association of failures, but it did not go far, not sent to the carpet by Johann Löwenthal in two parts of continuation.

Birmingham 1858 was to be for Staunton its last competition public. He refused to play against Paul Morphy in public during the visit of this last in England in 1858, saying himself too occupied to his work on Shakespeare. To justify this assertion, it did not make any more from now on but write on Shakespeare and the failures. In 1860, it published its edition of Shakespeare which it regarded as a remarkable work, but the current critics are not of this opinion and the name of Staunton remained obscure among the modern commentators of Shakespeare. It also published in 1860 one entitled book Chess Praxis , which benefitted from the interest of the public for Morphy and counted more than 168 pages of parts of the American commented on by Staunton.

Staunton published a great number of articles on Shakespeare in 1864 and 1865. Its last book was Great Schools off England published in 1865. He still worked with another book of failures, when death took it. He died in his office in his library. Its last book, Chess: Theory and Practice was published in 1876, after its death, by the care of R.B. Wormald.

A commemorative plaque was now affixed at the 117 Lansdowne Road, W11 London, at the place where he had lived. In 1997, a stone commemorative carrying a figure of rider was set up to announce its tomb to the London cemetery of Kensal Green. Previously it did not carry any mark.

References

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