Howard Staunton

Howard Staunton (April 1810 - June 22 1874) was a chess player and Shakespeareanan scholar. Little is known about the life of Staunton before his appearance on the chess scene, although it is said that he claimed to have been an actor.

Following Staunton's defeat of St. Amant of France in 1843, he was recognized as the world's strongest chess player, but he is not considered to have been a World Champion of chess, because he didn't triumph over two leading players of his day. Staunton lost a short match to Adolf Anderssen in 1851, and refused to play Paul Morphy at all in the late 1850's.

Staunton went on to write a chess column in the Illustrated London News before founding the world's first chess magazine, the Chess Player's Chronicle. He was also responsible for the first international chess tournament, held in 1851.

A chess set designed by Nathaniel Cook and named after Staunton has become the standard set for both professional and amateur chess players.

A memorial plaque hangs at his old residence of 117 Lansdowne Road, London W11.

In 1997 a memorial stone bearing an engraving of a chess knight was raised to mark his grave at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. Prior to this his grave had been unmarked.