Editing Howard Staunton (section)

==Life==
[[Image:HowardStaunton.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Staunton, c. 1860]]
Most information about Staunton's early life is based on claims he made. In the 1861 and 1871 English census, he claimed he was born in [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick, Cumberland]], located within the [[Lake District]], which he listed as his birthplace in the 1851 census. In 1849, he listed William Staunton as his father on his marriage registration.<ref>''England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973''</ref> Record of his birth or baptism has never been found.<ref name="WinterChessNote4776">{{cite web |title=Staunton's origins |last=Winter |first=Edward |series=Chess Note |volume=4776 |url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter29.html#4776._Stauntons_origins |access-date=21 June 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617113712/http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter29.html |archive-date=17 June 2008}}</ref>

The chess historian [[H. J. R. Murray]] summarised the information that he gleaned from various sources: Staunton was born in 1810, reputedly the [[Legitimacy (family law)|natural son]] (meaning illegitimately born) of [[Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle|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]].<ref name="WinterChessNote4776"/><ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

===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 (chess player)|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, [[Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant|Saint-Amant]] and [[George Walker (chess player)|George Walker]], could easily have given him [[Chess handicap|rook odds]].<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

In 1838 he played many games with [[William Davies Evans|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.&nbsp;Popert,<ref name="ScoresRomanticEra"/> a slow, cautious player with great defensive skill.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

From May to December&nbsp;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, the ''[[Chess Player's Chronicle]]'', which Staunton owned and edited until the early 1850s.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton">
{{cite magazine
 | author=Murray, H.J.R. | author-link=H. J. R. Murray
 | date=November 1908
 | title=Howard Staunton: Part&nbsp;I
 | magazine=British Chess Magazine
 | url=http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html
 | access-date=19 June 2008
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208141521/http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html
 | archive-date=8 December 2007
}}
and
{{cite magazine
 | author=Murray, H.J.R. | author-link=H. J. R. Murray
 | date=November 1908
 | title=Howard Staunton: Part&nbsp;II
 | magazine=British Chess Magazine
 | url=http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html
 | access-date=19 June 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071208141521/http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html
 | archive-date = 8 December 2007
}}
</ref><ref name="BritishMiscellany">
The transformation can be seen at {{cite book
 | editor=Staunton, H.
 | year=1841
 | title=The British Miscellany and Chess Player's Chronicle
 | publisher=Williamson
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3wEAAAAQAAJ&q=%22British+Miscellany%22&pg=PA1
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref>

===1843, competitive peak===
{{Chess diagram small
|tright
|
<!--8-->|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
<!--7-->|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
<!--6-->|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
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<!--2-->|pl|pl|  |pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
<!--1-->|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
|The [[English Opening]], named for Staunton's use of it against [[Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant|Saint-Amant]]}}

Early in 1843 Staunton prevailed in a long series of games against [[John Cochrane (chess player)|John Cochrane]], a strong player and [[chess theoretician]].<ref name="ScoresRomanticEra"/> [[Chessmetrics]] treats these games incorrectly as one match when it was in fact a series of matches, and lists it as Staunton's best performance.<ref name="chessmetricsProfileStaunton">
{{cite web
 | title=Chessmetrics Player Profile: Howard Staunton
 | url=http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/PlayerProfile.asp?Params=199510SSSSS3S125695000000121000000000028210100
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref>

A little later that year he lost a short match (2½–3½) in London against the visiting French player [[Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant|Saint-Amant]], who was generally regarded as the world's strongest active player.<ref name="storiascacchiMatchesTo1849"/><ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGames">Fine 1951</ref>

Staunton challenged Saint-Amant to a longer match to be played in Paris for a stake of £100, {{Inflation|UK|100|1843|r=-3|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}.{{efn|Conversion is based on prices. If conversion is based on average income, the result is about £80,000.<ref>{{cite web
 | title=Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.K. Pound Amount, 1270 to Present
 | url=https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/result.php?year_source=1843&amount=100&year_result=2019
 | access-date=6 May 2021}}
</ref>}} Then he prepared new [[Chess opening|opening]] lines, especially those beginning 1.c4, which became known as the [[English Opening]] after this match.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/> He also took Thomas Worrall and Harry Wilson to Paris as his assistants;<ref name="chesscafeCaptainWilliamEvans"/> this is the first known case where [[List of chess terms#Second|seconds]] were used in a match.<ref name="WallStaunton"/> 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.<ref name="batgirlStaunton">{{cite web
 | title=Howard Staunton
 | publisher=batgirl
 | url=http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/Staunton.html
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 | author=Weeks, Mark 
 | title=World Chess Championship: 1843 Staunton – Saint-Amant Matches
 | url=http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/u3ss$mix.htm
 | access-date=24 June 2008
}}
</ref>

Saint-Amant wanted a third match, but Staunton was initially unwilling as he had developed [[heart palpitations]] during the second match. [[Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa|Von der Lasa]] later suggested this was why Staunton faded in the second match.<ref name="HardingLondonChessMagazine2"/> However, after a long, difficult negotiation, which he reported in the ''Chess Player's Chronicle'',<ref name="WinterChessNote4767">
{{cite web
 | author=Winter, E.G.  |author-link=Edward Winter (chess historian)
 | title=Chess Note 4767 Copyright
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter29.html#4767._Copyright
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref> Staunton went to Paris intending to start their third match in October&nbsp;1844, but he caught [[pneumonia]] while travelling and almost died; the match was postponed and never took place.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

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.{{efn|Several authors concur on Staunton's status as world champion:<br/>
* Hooper and Whyld refer to Staunton as "the world's leading player in the 1840s". {{cite book
 | author1=Hooper, D. | author-link=David Vincent Hooper
 | author2=Whyld, K.  | author-link2=Kenneth Whyld
 | year=1992
 | title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]]
 | edition=2nd
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000hoop/page/390 390]
 | publisher=Oxford University Press
 | isbn=0-19-866164-9
}}
* {{cite book
 | author=Golombek, H. | author-link=Harry Golombek
 | year=1976
 | title=Chess: A History
 | pages=129–130
 | publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons
}}
* {{cite book
 | author1=Saidy, A.   | author1-link=Anthony Saidy
 | author2=Lessing, N. | author2-link=Norman Lessing
 | year=1974
 | title=The World of Chess
 | publisher=Random House
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said/page/85 85]
 | isbn=0-394-48777-X
 | url=https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said/page/85
}}
*{{cite book
 | author=Soltis, Andy  | author-link=Andrew Soltis
 | year=1975
 | title=The Great Chess Tournaments and their Stories
 | page=2
 | publisher=Chilton Book Company
 | isbn=0-8019-6138-6
}}
* {{cite book
 | title=Grandmasters of Chess
 | author=Schonberg, Harold C. | author-link=Harold Schonberg
 | year=1973
 | publisher=J.B. Lippincott
 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/grandmastersofch00haro/page/50 50–51]
 | isbn=0-397-01004-4
 | url=https://archive.org/details/grandmastersofch00haro/page/50
}}
* {{cite book
 | author=Fine, R.
 | year=1965  |orig-year=1948 
 | title=Great Moments in Modern Chess
 | pages=3–4
 | publisher=Dover Publications
 | isbn=0-486-21449-4
}} originally published in 1948 by David McKay as ''The World's a Chessboard''.
* {{cite book
 | author=Horowitz, I.A.  | author-link=Israel Horowitz
 | year=1973
 | title=The World Chess Championship – A History
 | publisher=Macmillan
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/worldchesschampi00horo/page/3 3]
 | lccn=72080175 |oclc=604994
 | url=https://archive.org/details/worldchesschampi00horo
 | url-access=registration
}}
}} After Saint-Amant's defeat, no other Frenchmen arose to continue the French supremacy in chess established by [[François-André Danican Philidor|Philidor]], [[Alexandre Deschapelles|Deschapelles]], [[Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais|La Bourdonnais]] and Saint-Amant.<ref>
{{cite web
 |author      = Weeks, Mark 
 |title       = The French School of Chess (18th/19th cent.)
 |url         = http://chess.about.com/od/history/p/aa05h27.htm
 |access-date = 24 June 2008 |url-status = dead
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080704021127/http://chess.about.com/od/history/p/aa05h27.htm
 |archive-date= 4 July 2008 |df = dmy
}}
</ref> Some contemporary English commentators, mainly in Staunton's ''Chess Player's Chronicle'', and some later writers hailed Staunton as the [[World Chess Championship|world champion]].{{efn|The Earl of Mexborough's speech to the meeting of Yorkshire Chess Clubs, reported in the 1845 ''Chess Player's Chronicle'' (with the cover date 1846); the ''Brighton Gazette'' and a letter from Edward Cronhelm, both in ''Chess Player's Chronicle'' 1851.<br/>All presented at<ref>{{cite web
 | author=Winter, E.G. |author-link=Edward Winter (chess historian)
 | title=Early uses of ''World Chess Champion''
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/champion.html
 | access-date=6 June 2008
}}<br/>
::from
{{cite magazine
 |title=[title not cited]
 |year=1851  |orig-year=1846
 |magazine=Chess Player's Chronicle
 |volume=5 |pages=92 & 128
}}
</ref>}}<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>{{efn|
According to [[Philip W. Sergeant]], Staunton after his victory over Saint-Amant, was generally regarded in England as the world champion.<ref>
{{cite book
 | author=Sergeant, P.  | author-link=Philip W. Sergeant
 | year=1934
 | title=A Century of British Chess
 | publisher=David McKay
}}</ref>{{rp|page=&nbsp;56}}<br/>
Sergeant expressed his concurrence with this assessment by stating
:"By his victory over Saint-Amant ... Staunton may fairly be held to have become unofficial chess champion of the world".{{rp|page=&nbsp;57}}
}}

The response was less enthusiastic elsewhere in Europe. Even in England some writers suggested other players, notably [[Henry Thomas Buckle|Buckle]] or [[von der Lasa]], were stronger.<ref>
Letter from [[Ludwig Bledow|Bledow]] to [[von der Lasa]], written in 1846 and published in the ''Deutsche Schachzeitung'' in 1848;<br/>
George Walker in ''Bell's Life''.<br/>
::quoted at
{{cite web
 | author=Spinrad, Jeremy 
 | title=Early World Rankings
 | url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/spinrad06.pdf
 | access-date=8 June 2008
}}
</ref>

===1845–1848, chess writer and promoter===
In 1845 Staunton began a chess column for ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'', which became the most influential chess column in the world and which he continued for the rest of his life.<ref name="batgirlStaunton"/><ref name="OxfordCompanionToChess">
{{cite book
 | author1=Hooper, D. | author1-link=David Vincent Hooper
 | author2=Whyld, K.  |author2-link=Kenneth Whyld 
 | year=1992
 | title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]]
 | edition=2nd
 | publisher=Oxford University Press
 | isbn=0-19-866164-9
}}
</ref> Although his articles mostly focused on over-the-board play,<ref>Continuous play against an opponent. Correspondence chess is not continuous. Analysis may take several hours' continuous work but there is no opponent.</ref> a significant number featured [[correspondence chess]].<ref name="HilbertStauntonChessByTelegraph">{{cite web
 |author=Hilbert, J.S. 
 |title=Howard Staunton and Chess by "Electric Telegraph" 
 |url=http://www.correspondencechess.com/campbell/articles/a030127.htm 
 |access-date=19 June 2008 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000819062645/http://chess.about.com/games/chess/library/weekly/aa091499.htm 
 |archive-date=19 August 2000 }}
</ref> Some followed with enthusiasm the progress of promising youngsters, including [[Paul Morphy]].<ref name="WinterChessNote4765">{{cite web
 | title=Unnamed prodigy
 | series=Chess Note
 | volume=4765
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter29.html#4764._Zukertort_C.N._4726
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref> Staunton produced over 1,400&nbsp;weekly articles for ''The Illustrated London News''.<ref name="HilbertStauntonChessByTelegraph" />

<!-- {{Wikisource|Littell's Living Age/Volume 5/Issue 57/Game of Chess by the Electric Telegraph}} -->
[[Image:Howard Staunton Chess Handbook.jpg|right|200px|thumb|''The Chess-Player's Handbook'']]
The first chess match by [[Electrical telegraph|electric telegraph]] took place in 1844, between Washington and Baltimore. In April&nbsp;1845 Staunton and [[Hugh Alexander Kennedy|Captain Kennedy]] travelled to [[Gosport]] to play two games by telegraph against a group in London. Staunton took a long-term interest in this solution to the difficulties of travel, and reported telegraph games in ''The Illustrated London News''. In 1871 his report of a telegraphic match between Sydney and [[Adelaide]] calculated that the 74&nbsp;moves of the longest game had travelled a total of 220,000&nbsp;miles (not much less than the distance between [[Earth]] and [[Moon]]).<ref name="HilbertStauntonChessByTelegraph"/>

In 1847 Staunton published his most famous work, ''The Chess-Player's Handbook'', which is still in print.<ref>
{{cite web
 | title=Search results for "Staunton chess-player's handbook" in WorldCat' [WorldCat.org]
 | website=[[WorldCat]]
 | url=http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Staunton+chess-player%27s+handbook&fq=&dblist=638&qt=sort&se=yr&sd=desc&qt=sort_yr_desc
 | access-date=1 October 2009
}}
</ref> It contained over 300&nbsp;pages of [[chess opening|opening]] analysis,<ref>
{{cite book
 | author=Staunton, H.
 | year=1847
 | title=The Chess-Player's Handbook
 | pages=59–401
 | publisher=Henry G. Bohn
}}
</ref> and almost 100&nbsp;pages of [[Endgame (chess)|endgame]] analysis.<ref>
{{cite book
 | author=Staunton, H.
 | year=1847
 | title=The Chess-Player's Handbook
 | pages=403–500
 | publisher=Henry G. Bohn
}}
</ref>{{efn|Staunton's analysis of the very rare rook versus three minor pieces endgame is surprisingly sophisticated for its time: "Three minor Pieces are much stronger than a Rook, and in cases where two of them are Bishops will usually win without much difficulty, because the player of the Rook is certain to be compelled to lose him for one of his adversary's Pieces. If, however, there are two Knights and one Bishop opposed to a Rook, the latter may generally be [[Exchange (chess)|exchanged]] for the Bishop, and as two Knights are insufficient of themselves to force checkmate, the game will be drawn." (p. 439)<br /> Modern [[endgame tablebase]]s confirm Staunton's assessments of both endgames.<ref>{{cite book
 | author1=Müller, K.    | author1-link=Karsten Müller
 | author2=Lamprecht, F. | author2-link=Frank Lamprecht
 | year=2001 
 | title=Fundamental Chess Endings
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/fundamentalchess00mull/page/n405 403]
 | publisher=Gambit Publications
 | isbn=1-901983-53-6
 | url=https://archive.org/details/fundamentalchess00mull
 | url-access=limited
}}
</ref>
}} Staunton's Handbook was based on [[Paul Bilguer|Bilguer]] and [[Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa|von der Lasa's]] ''[[Handbuch des Schachspiels]]'' (first published in 1843), but enhanced by many variations and analyses of Staunton's own.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/> His book ''The Chess-Player's Companion'' followed in 1849.<ref name="StauntonChessplayersCompanion">
Staunton's (1847) ''Handbook'' and (1849) ''Companion'' can be read online or downloaded as PDF files. Both are available at {{cite book
 | author=Staunton, H.
 | title=The Chess-player's Companion
 | year=1849
 | access-date=19 June 2008
| publisher=H. G. Bohn
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iO0IAAAAQAAJ&q=popert+chess&pg=PA187
}}
</ref>

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 [[chess handicap|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).<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/><ref name="ScoresRomanticEra"/>{{efn|name="chessOdds"|A stronger player sometimes gives a weaker player an [[chess handicap|advantage]]. In "pawn odds" the stronger player starts without one of his pawns and plays as White (or, if there is a match at odds, the players alternate colors in the normal way), while at "pawn and move odds" (abbreviated P+1) the stronger player always has the black pieces. If the gap in skill is greater the stronger player might give "pawn and two moves" (P+2), where he starts without one of his pawns, plays as Black ''and'' lets his opponent have a further extra move. If the difference in skill is even greater, the stronger player may give knight, bishop or even rook odds (removing the relevant piece before the game starts).}}
{{clear}}

===1849, marriage and design of a chess set===
{{main article|Staunton chess set}}
[[Image:JaquesCookStaunton.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Original Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king]]

On 23 July 1849, Staunton married Frances Carpenter Nethersole, who had had eight children by a previous marriage.<ref name="WinterChessNote4776"/><ref name="WallStaunton"/>

In 1849, [[Nathaniel Cooke]] registered a [[chess pieces|chess set]] design, and [[Jaques of London]] obtained the manufacturing rights. Staunton advertised the new set in his ''Illustrated London News'' chess 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.<ref name="batgirlStaunton"/>

The design became popular, and has been the standard for both professional and amateur chess players ever since.<ref>
{{cite book
 | author=Kasparov, G.  | author-link=Garry Kasparov
 | year=2003
 | title=[[My Great Predecessors]]
 | volume=Part&nbsp;I  | page=17
 | publisher=Everyman Chess
 | isbn=1-85744-330-6
}}<br/>
{{cite book
 | author1=Saidy, A.   | author1-link=Anthony Saidy
 | author2=Lessing, N. | author-link2=Norman Lessing
 | year=1974
 | title=The World of Chess
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said/page/88 88]
 | publisher=Random House
 | isbn=0-394-48777-X
 | url=https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said/page/88
}}
<br/>
{{cite web
 | title=Standards of Chess Equipment and tournament venue for FIDE Tournaments
 | publisher=[[FIDE]]
 | access-date=19 June 2008
| url=http://www.fide.com/info/handbook?id=16&view=category
}}
</ref> [[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."<ref>
{{cite book
 | author1=Saidy, A.    | author1-link=Anthony Saidy
 | author2=Lessing, N.  | author-link2=Norman Lessing
 | year=1974
 | title=The World of Chess
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said/page/88 88]
 | publisher=Random House
 | isbn=0-394-48777-X
 | url=https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said/page/88
}}
</ref>

===1851, London International Tournament===
{{main article|London 1851 chess tournament}}
[[Image:Crystal Palace.PNG|thumb|right|300px|The front entrance of the [[Great Exhibition]] in [[Hyde Park, London]]]]
Staunton proposed and then took the lead in organising 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.<ref name="StauntonLondon1851"/> He may also have been motivated by reports that a few years earlier [[Ludwig Bledow]] had proposed to organise an international tournament in Germany, whose winner was to be recognised as the world champion.<ref name="Spinrad2006EarlyWorldRankings">
{{cite web
 | author=Spinrad, J.P.
 | year=2006
 | title=Early world rankings
 | website=chesscafe.com
 | url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/spinrad06.pdf
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref> Staunton and his colleagues had ambitious objectives for this tournament, including convening a "Chess Parliament" to complete the standardisation 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 opening]]s, preferably as a table.<ref name="StauntonLondon1851">
{{cite book
 | author=Staunton, Howard
 | year=1851
 | title=The Chess Tournament
 | publisher=Hardinge Simpole
 | isbn=1-84382-089-7
}} This can be viewed online at or downloaded as PDF from {{cite book
 | author=Staunton, Howard
 | year=1852
 | title=The Chess Tournament
 | publisher=H.G. Bohn
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SUCAAAAYAAJ&q=1851+london+tournament+book+staunton&pg=PR24
 | access-date=19 June 2008 | via=Google Books
}}
</ref> Before the tournament started [[Hugh Alexander Kennedy|Captain Kennedy]] and the ''Liberty Weekly Tribune'' in [[Missouri]] wrote that the winner should be regarded as "the World's Chess Champion".<ref name="Spinrad2006EarlyWorldRankings" />

The organisers obtained financial contributions from Europe, the US and Asia, enabling the committee to set up a prize fund of £500,<ref name="StauntonLondon1851" /> equivalent to about £359,000 in 2006's money.{{efn|Conversion based on average incomes, which are the most appropriate measure for several days' hard work. If we use average prices for the conversion, the result is about £40,000.<ref>{{cite web
 | title=Five ways to compute the relative value of a UK Pound amount, 1830 – 2006: 2006 equivalent of £335 in 1851
 | url=http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/result.php?use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=DEFIND&use%5B%5D=WAGE&use%5B%5D=GDPCP&use%5B%5D=GDPC&year_early=1851&pound71=500&shilling71=0&pence71=0&amount=500&year_source=1851&year_result=2008
 | access-date=19 June 2008 | url-status=dead 
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929220614/http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/result.php?use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=DEFIND&use%5B%5D=WAGE&use%5B%5D=GDPCP&use%5B%5D=GDPC&year_early=1851&pound71=500&shilling71=0&pence71=0&amount=500&year_source=1851&year_result=2008
 | archive-date=29 September 2011
}}
</ref>}}

[[Image:And00278.png|thumb|upright=0.75|left| [[Adolf Anderssen]]]]
Despite the generally enthusiastic response, several major players were unable to participate, including [[Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa|von der Lasa]], [[Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant|Saint-Amant]] and [[John Cochrane (chess player)|Cochrane]].<ref name="StauntonLondon1851"/> [[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.<ref name="batgirlAnderssen">
{{cite web
 | title=Morphy's opponents: Adolf Anderssen
 | url=http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/Anderssen.html
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref> The committee had also organised a "London Provincial Tournament" for other British players, and "promoted" some of the entrants to play in the International Tournament to obtain the right number of players for a [[Single-elimination tournament|knock-out tournament]].<ref name="StauntonLondon1851"/>

The tournament was a success, but disappointing for Staunton personally; in the second round he was [[Single-elimination tournament|knocked out]] by Anderssen, who won the tournament convincingly; and in the [[play-off]] for third place Staunton was narrowly beaten by [[Elijah Williams (chess player)|Elijah Williams]].<ref name="WeeksLondon1851">
{{cite web
 | title=1851 London Tournament
 | url=http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/v1lon-ix.htm
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}
</ref>{{efn| Williams beat Staunton by one game in the match. This was before [[time control]]s were used and Staunton resigned a crucial game because he claimed that Williams was taking too long to move.<ref>{{cite book
 |first=Anne |last=Sunnucks |author-link=Anne Sunnucks
 |year=1970
 |title=The Encyclopedia of Chess
 |page=459
}}
</ref>
}} Staunton's defeat by Williams suggests that Staunton had over-stretched himself by acting as both a competitor and the Secretary of the organising committee.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

The London Chess Club, which had fallen out with Staunton and his colleagues, organised 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.<ref name="storiascacchiTorneiAl1879"/>

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.<ref name="StauntonLondon1851"/> Some of Staunton's comments in the book and in ''The Illustrated London News'' were offensive, because he was disappointed with the placing he achieved.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

===1852–1860, final stages of playing career and Shakespeare publication===
Immediately after the London International tournament Staunton challenged [[Adolf Anderssen|Anderssen]] to a match of twenty-one games, for £100 (£14,874/US$18,355 in 2022 terms). Anderssen accepted the challenge but the match could not be arranged: Staunton was physically unfit for an immediate contest, and Anderssen had to return to work.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

[[Carl Jaenisch]] had arrived too late for the tournament; Staunton convincingly won a match with him soon after (seven wins, one draw, and two losses).<ref name="Matches1850To1864"/> Later in 1851 Staunton played a match against [[Elijah Williams (chess player)|Elijah Williams]], who had won their play-off for third place in the London International tournament. Staunton won more games (six wins, three draws, and four losses) but lost the match because he had given Williams a three-game start.<ref name="ScoresRomanticEra"/>

In 1853, while trying to arrange a match against Anderssen, Staunton met [[Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa|von&nbsp;der Lasa]] in Brussels. The two began a match, but had to abandon it in the middle of the thirteenth game, with von&nbsp;der Lasa leading (five wins, four losses, and three draws). Staunton was unfit to continue because of heart [[palpitations]], which had affected him in the second match against [[Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant|Saint-Amant]] in 1843. In von&nbsp;der Lasa's opinion there was no chance that Staunton's health would be good enough for a serious contest from 1853 onwards.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>{{refn|name="vdLasa1874Staunton"|
{{cite magazine
 | author=von&nbsp;der Lasa, T.
 | author-link=Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa
 | date=November 1874
 | title=[title unknown]
 | magazine=The City of London Chess Magazine
}}<br/>{{cite web
 | author=Harding, T.  | author-link=Tim Harding (chess)
 | title=A History of The City of London Chess Magazine (Part 2)
 | url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kibitz49.txt
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}{{efn|Some writers say Staunton and von&nbsp;der Lasa played a match in Berlin in 1844; but Staunton wrote in the ''Chess Player's Chronicle'' that he had the pleasure of making the personal acquaintance of von&nbsp;der Lasa in their 1853 encounter.<ref>{{cite web
 | author=Spinrad, J.P.
 | year=2006
 | title=Baron von Heydebrand und der Lasa
 | url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/spinrad07.pdf
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}</ref>
}}
}}

In the mid-1850s Staunton obtained a contract with the publishers [[Routledge]] to edit the text of [[Shakespeare]]. This [[The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: The Complete Works Annotated|edition]] appeared in parts from 1857 to 1860, and Staunton's work was praised by experts.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

[[Image:PaulmorphyHair.jpg|thumb|right|200px|{{center|[[Paul Morphy]]}}]]
While Staunton was busy with the Shakespeare edition, he received a courteous letter from the [[New Orleans]] Chess Club, inviting him to that city to play [[Paul Morphy]], who had won the recent [[American Chess Congress#First American Chess Congress|First American Chess Congress]]. Staunton replied, thanking the New Orleans Chess Club and Morphy "for the honor implied in your selection of me as the opponent of such a champion" and pointing out that he had not competed for several years and was working six days a week (on editing Shakespeare), and that he could not possibly travel across the Atlantic for a match.{{sfn|Lawson|2006|pp=92–93}}

Staunton also wrote in ''The Illustrated London News'' that he had "been compelled, by laborious literary occupation, to abandon the practice of chess, beyond the indulgence of an occasional game ...&nbsp;. If Mr. Morphy – for whose skill we entertain the liveliest admiration – be desirous to win his spurs among the chess chivalry of Europe, he must take advantage of his purposed visit next year; he will then meet in this country, in France, in Germany and in Russia, many champions ... ready to test and do honor to his prowess."{{efn|
The full text of Staunton's letter was: <br/>
:"Gentlemen:
:In reply to your very courteous proposal for me to visit New Orleans for the purpose of encountering Mr. Paul Morphy at Chess, permit me to mention that for many years professional duties have compelled me to abandon the practice of the game almost entirely except in the most desultory manner, and at the present time these duties are so exacting that it is with difficulty I am enabled to snatch one day out of seven for exercise and relaxation.
:Under the circumstances you will at once perceive that a long and arduous chess contest, even in this Metropolis, would be an enterprise too formidable for me to embark in without ample opportunity for the recovery of my old strength in play, together with such arrangements as would prevent the sacrifice of my professional engagements for the sake of a match at chess, and that the idea of undertaking one in a foreign country, many thousand miles from here, is admissible only in a dream.
:With friendly greetings to my proposed antagonist, whose talent and enthusiasm no one can more highly estimate, and with compliments to you for the honour implied in your selection of me as the opponent of such a champion, I beg to subscribe myself, with every consideration. <br/>Yours obediently,
:H. Staunton"<ref>{{cite web
 | editor=batgirl (edochess.ca)
 | title=The life and chess of Paul Morphy: The Staunton challenge
 | url=http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/morphybio5.html
 | access-date=27 June 2008
}}<br/> Evidently reprinted from {{cite book
 | author=Lawson, D.
 | year=1976
 | title=Paul Morphy: The pride and sorrow of chess
 | pages=92–93
 | publisher=David McKay
 | isbn=0-679-13044-6
}}
</ref>}}

Chess historian [[H. J. R. Murray]] wrote that Staunton's letter and article should have been interpreted as a courteous refusal of the offer, but that Morphy interpreted them differently, and one of the main reasons for his visit to Europe in 1858 was the hope of playing a match with Staunton.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/><ref>
{{cite book
 | author=Lawson, D.
 | year=1976
 | title=Paul Morphy: The pride and sorrow of chess
 | pages=92–93
 | publisher=David McKay
 | isbn=0-679-13044-6
}}
</ref> Some other chess historians disagree with Murray's interpretation of Staunton's response.<ref name=Konsala-1981/>{{rp|page=29}} Staunton did offer to play Morphy by [[electric telegraph]], a technology whose progress and uses for chess he reported enthusiastically. However this offer arrived after Morphy had left for Europe – which perhaps was fortunate, as the newly laid cable broke down after a month and was not replaced until 1866.<ref name="StauntonMorphyTelegraphOffer">
{{cite web
 |author=Hilbert, J.S. 
 |title=Howard Staunton and chess by "electric telegraph" 
 |url=http://www.correspondencechess.com/campbell/articles/a030127.htm 
 |access-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000819062645/http://chess.about.com/games/chess/library/weekly/aa091499.htm 
 |archive-date=19 August 2000 }} This cites the entry for "telegraph chess," in {{cite book
 | author1=Hooper, D. | author1-link=David Vincent Hooper
 | author2=Whyld, K.  |author2-link=Kenneth Whyld 
 | year=1992
 | title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]]
 | edition=2nd 
 | publisher=Oxford University Press
 | isbn=0-19-866164-9
}}
</ref>

Upon arriving in England in June 1858, Morphy promptly challenged Staunton to a match. At first, Staunton declined Morphy's offer saying that the challenge came too late.<ref name=Konsala-1981/>{{rp|page=30}} Morphy did not give up negotiations and urging Staunton to play. In early July Staunton agreed provided he was given time to get back into practice on [[chess opening|openings]] and [[chess endgame|endgames]],<ref name=Konsala-1981/>{{rp|pages=31–32}} and provided that he could manage all this without breaking the publication contract for his Shakespearean work. In early August, Morphy wrote asking Staunton when the match could occur,<ref name="batgirlMorphyGoesToEngland">
{{cite web
| url=http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/morphybio6.html
| title=Paul Morphy Goes to England
 | access-date=20 July 2008
}}
</ref><ref name="Wall_Morphy">
{{cite web
 |author      = Wall, W.
 |title       = Paul Morphy
 |series      = Bill Wall's chess master profiles
 |url     = http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lab/7378/morphy.htm
 |access-date = 6 July 2008 |url-status = dead
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091026154924/http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lab/7378/morphy.htm
 |archive-date = 26 October 2009 |df = dmy-all
}}{{webarchive
 |format=addlarchives
 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028033945/http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lab/7378/morphy.htm
 |date=28 October 2009
}}
</ref> and Staunton asked again for a delay of some weeks.<ref name=Konsala-1981/>{{rp|page=33}}

Staunton did compete in a tournament in [[Birmingham]], that started on 22&nbsp;August, but it was a [[Single-elimination tournament|knock-out tournament]], and he was eliminated in the second round by [[Johann Löwenthal]] after playing a total of four games.<ref name="storiascacchiTorneiAl1879"/><ref name="Wall_Morphy"/> This was to be Staunton's last public chess competition. H.J.R. Murray wrote that Staunton had overexerted himself and damaged his health by trying both to get ahead of schedule on the Shakespeare project and to play some competitive chess.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/>

Just before Staunton left London for Birmingham, his old enemy [[George Walker (chess player)|George Walker]] had published an article accusing him of trying to delay the match indefinitely, and Staunton received another letter from Morphy pressing him to name a date for the match. Staunton and Morphy met socially in Birmingham and, after a tense discussion, Staunton agreed to play in early November.<ref name="batgirlBirminghamMeeting">
{{cite web
 | title=The Birmingham Meeting
 | url=http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/morphybio7.html
 | access-date=20 July 2008
}}
</ref><ref name=Konsala-1981/>{{rp|page=34}} Just after the tournament a letter signed by "Anti-book" appeared in Staunton's column in ''The Illustrated London News'', alleging that Morphy did not actually have the money for his share of the stakes. This letter is widely thought to have been written by Staunton himself; if so, he must have written it immediately after reading Walker's article and Morphy's letter and immediately before leaving for Birmingham.<ref name="Diggle1987ChessCharacters2">
{{cite book
 | author=Diggle, G.H.
 | year=1987
 | title=Chess Characters  | volume=2
 | location=Geneva
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter34.html#4983._Reti_and_Tartakower
 | access-date=20 July 2008
}}
</ref>

Around this time Morphy wrote to friends in the U.S. asking them to obtain the stake money for the Staunton match. Morphy's family refused to contribute as they "should not allow him to play a money match either with his own money or anyone else's", but the New Orleans Chess Club sent £500.<ref name="batgirlPaulWaitsForAnderssen">
{{cite web
 | title=Paul waits for Anderssen
 | url=http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/morphybio9.html
 | access-date=20 July 2008
}}
</ref> Meanwhile, Morphy went to Paris to play against continental masters. In September ''The Illustrated London News'' printed both a complimentary full-page article about Morphy and a complimentary mention of him in its chess column.<ref>
{{cite news
 | title=Mr.&nbsp;Paul Morphy, the American chess phenomenon
 | date=18 September 1858
| newspaper=Illustrated London News 
 | page=255
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/pics/cn3889_morphy4.jpg | access-date=28 July 2008
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite news
 | title=Match between Messrs.&nbsp;Morphy and Lowenthal – game&nbsp;11
 | newspaper=Illustrated London News
 | date=18 September 1858
| page=255
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/pics/cn3889_morphy5.jpg
 | access-date=28 July 2008
}}
</ref> On 6&nbsp;October 1858, while in Paris, Morphy wrote Staunton an [[open letter]] which was also circulated to several publications, in which Morphy complained about Staunton's conduct.<ref name="MorphyOpenLetterOct1858">
{{cite news
 | author=Morphy, Paul 
 | date = October 1858
 | title=Letter from Paul Morphy to Mr.&nbsp;Staunton, of England
 | newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1858/11/01/78878758.pdf
 | access-date=11 July 2008
}} Copies were sent to ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'', ''[[Bell's Life in London]]'', the ''Era'', ''[[The Field (magazine)|The Field]]'' and ''[[The Sunday Times]]''.
</ref> Staunton replied on 9&nbsp;October, re-stating the difficulties he faced, but now giving them as reasons to cancel the match.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/><ref name="batgirlPaulWaitsForAnderssen" /><ref name=Konsala-1981/>{{rp|page=43}} On 23&nbsp;October, Staunton published his entire reply along with a partial copy of Morphy's open letter, omitting the reference to the "anti-book" letter.

Various chess columns then printed anonymous and acrimonious letters. Morphy took no part in any of this, but wrote to [[George Lyttelton, 4th&nbsp;Baron Lyttelton|Lord Lyttelton]], the president of the British Chess Association, explaining his own efforts to bring about the match, accusing Staunton of avoiding the match by all means short of admitting he did not wish to play, complaining about Staunton's representation of the facts in ''The Illustrated London News'', and demanding "that you shall declare to the world it is through no fault of mine that this match has not taken place."<ref name="batgirlPaulWaitsForAnderssen"/> Lyttelton replied that it was reasonable for Staunton to decline the match, but that in his opinion Staunton should have done so plainly in his first letter to America, but had instead often given the impression that he would soon be ready to start the match.<ref name="batgirlPaulWaitsForAnderssen"/><!--
Lyttleton quoted at Talk:Paul Morphy
The main criticism against Staunton was never his failure to play Morphy. As Lord Lyttleton put it:
{{Quote|In the general circumstances of the case, I conceive that Mr. Staunton was quite justified in declining the match.}}

His further statements explain Staunton's failings:
{{Quote|I cannot but think, that in all fairness and considerate-ness, Mr. Staunton might have told you of this long before he did. I know no reason why he might not have ascertained it, and informed you of it in answer to your first letter from America. Instead of this, it seems to me plain, both as to the interview at which I myself was present, and as to all the other communications which have passed, that Mr. Staunton gave you every reason to suppose that he would be ready to play the match within no long time ...&nbsp;.}}
-->

===Later life===
{{multiple image |total_width = 400
 |image1 = Howard Staunton 117 Lansdowne Road blue plaque.jpg
 |width1 = 3274 |height1 = 3181
 |caption1 = Blue plaque, 117&nbsp;Lansdowne Road, London
 |image2 = Howard Staunton, Kensal Green Cemetery 02.JPG
 |width2 = 3456 |height2 = 4608
 |caption2 = Monument, [[Kensal Green Cemetery]], London 
}}
Staunton continued writing the chess column in ''The Illustrated London News'' until his death in 1874, greeting new developments with enthusiasm.<ref name="batgirlStaunton"/><ref name="HilbertStauntonChessByTelegraph"/> In 1860 he published ''Chess Praxis'', a supplement to his 1847 work ''The Chess Player's Handbook''. The new book devoted 168&nbsp;pages to presenting many of Morphy's games and praised the American's play.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/><ref name="WallStaunton"/>

Five years later Staunton published ''Great Schools of England'' (1865), whose main subject was the history of major English [[Public school (UK)|public schools]] but which also presented some progressive ideas: Learning can only take place successfully if the active interest of the student is engaged; [[corporal punishment]] is to be avoided and [[fagging]] should be abolished.<ref>{{cite book
 | author=Staunton, H.
 | year=2002
 | title=Great Schools of England
 | publisher=Hardinge Simpole
 | isbn=1-84382-013-7
 | url=http://www.hardingesimpole.co.uk/biblio/1843820137.htm
 | access-date=19 June 2008
| archive-date=22 August 2010
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822015728/http://www.hardingesimpole.co.uk/biblio/1843820137.htm
 | url-status=dead
 }}<br/>Also summarised at {{cite web
 | title=The Howard Staunton Society
 | url=http://www.howardstaunton.com/staunton.shtml
 | access-date=19 June 2008
| url-status=dead
 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125161937/http://www.howardstaunton.com/staunton.shtml
 | archive-date=25 January 2013
}}</ref>

Most of Staunton's later life was occupied in writing about [[Shakespeare]], including: A [[photolithographic]] reproduction of the 1600 [[Early texts of Shakespeare's works|Quarto]] of ''[[Much Ado about Nothing]]'' in 1864 and of the [[First Folio]] of Shakespeare in 1866;<ref>
{{cite web
 | author=Gray, T.A.
 | year=2008
 | title=Shakespeare's Works
 | url=http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/works.htm
 | access-date=19 June 2008
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006112203/http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/works.htm
 | archive-date=6 October 2013
}}
</ref> and papers on ''Unsuspected corruptions of Shakespeare's text'', published from 1872 to his death. All these works were highly regarded at the time.

When he died suddenly of heart disease, on 22&nbsp;June 1874, he was at his desk writing one of these papers.<ref name="Murray1908Staunton"/> At the same time he was also working on his last chess book, ''Chess: Theory and Practice'', which was published posthumously in 1876.<ref name="NYTimes1888TheoryAndPractice">
{{cite news
 | title=A new chess book
 | date=13 May 1888
| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
 | page=13
 | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02EEDA173AEF33A25750C1A9639C94699FD7CF
 | access-date=19 June 2008
}}</ref>

A memorial plaque now hangs at his old residence of 117&nbsp;Lansdowne Road, London. In 1997 a memorial stone bearing an engraving of a chess [[knight (chess)|knight]] was raised over his grave at [[Kensal Green Cemetery]] in London, which had previously been unmarked and neglected.<ref>
{{cite news
 | last = Keene  | first = Raymond | author-link=Raymond Keene
 | date = 30 June 1995
| title = Staunton remembered
 | newspaper=[[The Spectator]]
 | page = 60
 | url = http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/1st-july-1995/60/chess
 | access-date = 4 September 2015
}}
</ref><ref>An image of the [http://www.kensalgreen.co.uk/documents/KG_restoration.html new headstone] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224072743/http://www.kensalgreen.co.uk/documents/KG_restoration.html |date=24 February 2014 }} is at the bottom of the page.</ref>