The Origin of Staunton Chess Pieces
The story of Staunton chess pieces includes what may be the first ever endorsement of a commercial product by a famous person.
Staunton-design chess pieces are the most widely used chess pieces in the world and are the standard for chess tournament play.
They were developed by a man named Nathaniel Cook for John Jacques of London, sellers of game and sport equipment, and were named after perhaps the greatest chess player of the 19th century.
Howard Staunton, who was born in 1810 and died in 1874, was a chess master in England - the world's best during most of the 1840s.
Staunton organized the first international tournament of chess in 1851, an event that made England the world leader in chess playing.
But by the 1850s, Staunton dropped out of competitive chess because of poor health and the fact that he had a parallel career as a Shakespearean scholar.
But before he left the world of competitive chess, he wrote Chess-Player's Handbook in 1847, a book that was a standard reference for decades.
Staunton chess pieces were almost sure to be popular, due to the popularity of their namesakes at the time they were first sold (1849), and the first 500 sets were numbered and signed by Staunton himself.
Staunton chess pieces rapidly became the standard and have been used around the world since then.
Before the development of Staunton chess pieces, the vastly different origins of the world's chess players meant that the chess pieces in one country or region might look very different from the pieces in another region or country.
The look of the pieces may have been influenced by the popularity of neo-classical Greek and Roman architecture in London at the time such as the knight made like a stallion's head from the Parthenon.
The new chess pieces were also made to be symbols of the Victorian era.
The shape of the pawns are believed to be either from Freemason's Square and Compasses, or Victorian architectural balconies.
There has also been speculation that John Jacques, who was a skilled lathe turner, wanted a design that would be widely accepted and easy to produce.
In reality, it was probably a bit of both.
Staunton heartily endorsed Jacques of London's new chess set, even to the point of deriding other designs.
It might have been the first "celebrity endorsement" of a commercial product.
In 1924, the Federation International des Rechecks or World Chess Federation selected Staunton chess sets as the standard for use in future international chess tournaments.
For a long time, chess pieces were made of wood turned on a lathe.
Any non-symmetrical details were later added by hand.
The knights, of course, had to be made in two stages.
Though today's chess game pieces may be made in plastic, wood, or some other material, the "standard" chess set has pieces based on John Jacques' Staunton design of 1849, with variations that are big enough to provide some distinction among manufacturers yet slight enough that the pieces are recognized as variations on the Staunton design.
Staunton-design chess pieces are the most widely used chess pieces in the world and are the standard for chess tournament play.
They were developed by a man named Nathaniel Cook for John Jacques of London, sellers of game and sport equipment, and were named after perhaps the greatest chess player of the 19th century.
Howard Staunton, who was born in 1810 and died in 1874, was a chess master in England - the world's best during most of the 1840s.
Staunton organized the first international tournament of chess in 1851, an event that made England the world leader in chess playing.
But by the 1850s, Staunton dropped out of competitive chess because of poor health and the fact that he had a parallel career as a Shakespearean scholar.
But before he left the world of competitive chess, he wrote Chess-Player's Handbook in 1847, a book that was a standard reference for decades.
Staunton chess pieces were almost sure to be popular, due to the popularity of their namesakes at the time they were first sold (1849), and the first 500 sets were numbered and signed by Staunton himself.
Staunton chess pieces rapidly became the standard and have been used around the world since then.
Before the development of Staunton chess pieces, the vastly different origins of the world's chess players meant that the chess pieces in one country or region might look very different from the pieces in another region or country.
The look of the pieces may have been influenced by the popularity of neo-classical Greek and Roman architecture in London at the time such as the knight made like a stallion's head from the Parthenon.
The new chess pieces were also made to be symbols of the Victorian era.
The shape of the pawns are believed to be either from Freemason's Square and Compasses, or Victorian architectural balconies.
There has also been speculation that John Jacques, who was a skilled lathe turner, wanted a design that would be widely accepted and easy to produce.
In reality, it was probably a bit of both.
Staunton heartily endorsed Jacques of London's new chess set, even to the point of deriding other designs.
It might have been the first "celebrity endorsement" of a commercial product.
In 1924, the Federation International des Rechecks or World Chess Federation selected Staunton chess sets as the standard for use in future international chess tournaments.
For a long time, chess pieces were made of wood turned on a lathe.
Any non-symmetrical details were later added by hand.
The knights, of course, had to be made in two stages.
Though today's chess game pieces may be made in plastic, wood, or some other material, the "standard" chess set has pieces based on John Jacques' Staunton design of 1849, with variations that are big enough to provide some distinction among manufacturers yet slight enough that the pieces are recognized as variations on the Staunton design.
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