![]() His collection contains over 600 sets from more than 40 countries, with the earliest set dating from the 11th century. Crumiller has worked with the World Chess Hall of Fame on two previous exhibitions: Prized and Played: Highlights from the Jon Crumiller Collection (May 3 – September 15, 2013) and Encore! Ivory Chess Treasures from the Jon Crumiller Collection (May 14 – October 18, 2015), lending both sets from his collection and his knowledge of antique sets and their makers. The show includes spectacular sets from the collection of Jon Crumiller, who owns some of the earliest Staunton Chessmen created. The Staunton Standard: Evolution of the Modern Chess Set contains examples of Staunton and Staunton-style chess sets from the 1840s through the present-day, showing how the set has both become a tradition as well as how creators have customized it to make it their own. DGT boards, which record the moves of the pieces, allowed chess fans to follow games as they happen rather than waiting until they were published in chess periodicals. The 20th century saw a number of innovations for the set, from its aforementioned mass-production in a number of materials from wood to Bakelite, catalin, lead, and plastic, to the 1998 introduction of Digital Game Technology (DGT) boards and pieces. Though Jaques warned of imitators, the pattern’s popularity could not be denied, and by the late 19th century, the set was mass-produced by multiple companies. and World Chess Hall of Fame inductee Paul Morphy (1837-1884) challenged Staunton to a match in 1858 to be played, “with Staunton chessmen of the usual club-size, and on a board of corresponding dimensions.” During his 1858 visit to Europe, Morphy also challenged “Alter,” a strong well-known amateur player to a match with a set of ivory club-size Staunton chessmen as a prize for the winner of the first five games. advertising “Several elegant sets of the STAUNTON CHESSMEN with the Carton Pierre Box,” and in 1873, the Helena Weekly Herald declared that players in Bozeman and Deer Lodge, Montana, would compete in a telegraph match with Staunton chessmen of English manufacture as the prize. Staunton’s signature on the box, without which none are genuine.” By 1863, publications from locations as far-flung as Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald declared a local auction house would be selling “Solid ivory Staunton chessmen, as used in the Paris and London clubs.” The New York Times published an 1853 ad for Bangs, Brother & Co. ![]() Jaques produced ads warning, “Caution-As spurious imitations are sometimes offered, purchasers are requested to observe Mr. “In the simplicity and elegance of their form, combining apparent lightness with real solidity, in the nicety of their proportions one with another, so that in the most intricate positions every piece stands out distinctively, neither hidden nor overshadowed by its fellows, the ‘Staunton Chess-men’ are incomparably superior to any others we have ever seen.”įirst produced by Jaques of London, competing firms quickly imitated the pattern. Its advantages were clear, as stated by Staunton himself in a June 2, 1850, issue of the Illustrated London News. ![]() Staunton, a top player of the 1840s as well as a writer and promoter of chess, was an early proponent of the set during a time when multiple styles of sets proliferated throughout Europe and around the world. However, they only rose to prominence through the efforts of their namesake, 2016 World Chess Hall of Fame inductee Howard Staunton (1810-1874). The Staunton chessmen, first introduced to the public in 1849, are now so well-known that their form is taken for granted. Their familiar pieces are used in these competitions as well as elite tournaments around the world. The Staunton Standard: Evolution of the Modern Chess SetĢ018 marks the tenth anniversary of the Saint Louis Chess Club (STLCC), which now hosts some of the United States’ and the world’s most prestigious chess tournaments, making it the perfect time to examine the history of the Staunton chessmen.
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