page_title: Howard Staunton
section_title: London 1851
hierarchical_section_title: Howard Staunton / Life / London 1851
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of Adolf Anderssen Français&#160;: Image de Adolf Anderssen
context_page_description: Howard Staunton was an English chess master. He was the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851.ᵖ³⁹¹ 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.
  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, 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".
  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.
context_section_description: Staunton proposed and then took the lead in organizing the first ever international tournament in 1851. He thought the Great Exhibition of 1851 presented a unique opportunity, because the difficulties that blocked international participation would be greatly reduced.
  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 to get the right number of players for a knock-out tournament.
  The tournament was a success, but disappointing for Staunton personally; in the second round he was knocked out by Anderssen, who won the tournament convincingly; and in the play-off for third place Staunton was narrowly beaten by Elijah Williams. Perhaps Staunton over-stretched himself by acting as both a competitor and the Secretary of the organizing committee. 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.
  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. The result was the same – Anderssen won.
  In the mid-1850s Staunton got a contract to edit the text of Shakespeare. This edition appeared in parts from 1857 to 1860; the work was praised in reviews.
caption: Adolf Anderssen. He won the London 1851 tournament and the rival event organized by the London Chess Club.
exif: {}