The “Staunton chessmen” are a chess piece pattern registered in London on 1 March 1849 in the name of Nathaniel Cooke, made by the firm of John Jaques and promoted by Howard Staunton, then regarded as the best player in the world, who gave it his name. Put on sale on 29 September 1849, it became the standard required in FIDE competitions.
- Staunton
- A chess piece pattern registered in London in 1849, designed by Nathaniel Cooke and made by John Jaques, which took the name of the player Howard Staunton. Its simple, legible forms (king with a cross, queen with a coronet, knight in the shape of a horse’s head) made it the tournament standard.
Before 1849: pieces that did not look alike
At the start of the nineteenth century there was no common pattern. In Paris people played with Régence-style pieces; in Germany and Central Europe, with Selenus pieces, tall and slender; in England, with styles such as the St George or the Barleycorn. These pieces were often beautiful, but sometimes unstable and hard to tell apart: a bishop could resemble a pawn, a queen a king. A foreign player had to adapt to his opponent’s set. To discover these forms, see our page on the historical styles of chess pieces.
1849: the registration of the Staunton chessmen
On 1 March 1849, a design entitled “Ornamental Design for a set of Chess-Men” was registered at the London patent office, under the Ornamental Designs Act of 1842, in the name of Nathaniel Cooke, of 198 Strand. The name is sometimes spelt “Cook”. Cooke was connected with the Illustrated London News, the weekly in which Howard Staunton wrote a chess column, and it was he who persuaded the player to back the new pattern.
Manufacture was entrusted to John Jaques, whose games and sporting goods business was based in Hatton Garden, London. An experienced turner, Jaques probably worked out the profiles that allowed careful manufacture at a reasonable cost.
On 8 September 1849, the Illustrated London News praised the “Staunton Chess-men”. On 29 September 1849, the pattern went on sale to the public. The first 500 sets were numbered and signed by hand by Staunton.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1843 | Howard Staunton beats Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant in Paris; he is regarded as the best player in the world until about 1851. |
| 1 March 1849 | Registration of the design in the name of Nathaniel Cooke (Ornamental Designs Act of 1842). |
| 8 September 1849 | The Illustrated London News presents the “Staunton Chess-men”. |
| 29 September 1849 | The first sets made by Jaques go on sale. |
| Late nineteenth and twentieth century | The pattern spreads through clubs and tournaments, copied and adapted by many makers. |
| 2022, then 2026 | The FIDE equipment standards require “Staunton-style” pieces for official competitions. |
The three men behind the pattern
Nathaniel Cooke, the designer
The design was registered in his name. Historians of the game generally credit him with the conception, even though John Jaques’s exact share in perfecting the profiles remains debated.
John Jaques, the maker
The house of Jaques, whose origins go back to 1795 according to the company, made objects in ivory, hardwood and bone, and then games. It produced the first Staunton sets and still claims this historic role. The firm’s sets remain sought after by collectors.
Howard Staunton, the sponsor
Howard Staunton (1810–1874) did not design the pieces. He lent them his name, his signature and his fame, in his columns and in the notice that accompanied the sets. He was happy to criticise rival patterns. This sponsorship by a champion was decisive in establishing the pattern.
Why the design prevailed
- Legibility: each piece has a head that is recognised instantly, even from a distance. The king bears a cross, the queen a coronet, the bishop a split mitre, the rook crenellations, the knight a horse’s head.
- Stability: wide bases and low profiles stop the pieces from toppling at the slightest touch.
- Weight: the boxwood and ebony sets were weighted with lead and felted underneath so as to glide silently (see weighting chess pieces).
- Symbolism: the forms draw on motifs familiar to Victorian society. The knight, according to a tradition often reported, is inspired by a horse’s head from the Parthenon marbles held in the British Museum.
Staunton, Régence, Selenus, Dubrovnik: the comparison
| Pattern | Date and origin | King | Knight | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staunton | 1849, London | Coronet topped with a cross | Carved horse’s head | FIDE standard |
| Régence | Nineteenth century, France (Café de la Régence) | Turned head, often slender | More stylised horse’s head | Played in Paris, including the 1843 Staunton v Saint-Amant match |
| Selenus | Name taken from a book of 1616; Germany, Central Europe | Tall, slender, tiers of collars | Horse’s head on a thin shaft | Common until the early twentieth century |
| Dubrovnik | 1950, Yugoslavia (Olympiad) | No cross or religious symbol | Simplified head, wide base | Tournaments, collecting |
Staunton chess sets today: one pattern, a thousand variants
The design registered in 1849 has long since ceased to be protected, and the word “Staunton” now denotes a family of forms rather than a single pattern. There are faithful reproductions of the 1849 set, “tournament” Staunton sets with simplified forms, “German Knight” sets with a more angular knight, and French Staunton sets from the Jura tradition. Some contemporary brands have taken the name into their company name, such as the American House of Staunton, with no historical link to Jaques.
The FIDE standards have confirmed this success: since 2022, and then in the version that came into force on 1 March 2026, they call for Staunton-style pieces, in wood or plastic, with a king height of 95 mm (within 10%). To find out what “size 5” or “size 6” means, see our page on chess piece sizes. For the woods of the first sets, see ebony and boxwood, and for woods in general, our comparison of woods.
To see the variety of present-day interpretations of the pattern, Le Palais des Échecs brings together Staunton-pattern chess sets in several sizes and woods, and sets out in an article its selection of Staunton sets, with the differences in the knight from one model to another.
How to recognise a good Staunton set
Look at the knight first: it is the hardest piece to get right, and the one that gives away a sloppy set fastest. The two knights of the same side should be symmetrical or very close. Then check the base: a diameter equal to 40 to 50% of the height, as the FIDE standards provide, guarantees stability. Finally, weigh the pieces in your hand: a weighted set sits better, and the felt must be glued on neatly, with no smears.
The design, piece by piece
The genius of the pattern lies in a reduced vocabulary of forms that everyone recognises without learning. All Staunton sets, past and present, share the same landmarks:
| Piece | Distinguishing feature | FIDE height (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| King | Coronet topped with a cross | 95 mm |
| Queen | Open coronet, often crenellated, topped with a small ball | 85 mm |
| Bishop | Bishop’s mitre with a diagonal slit | 70 mm |
| Knight | Carved horse’s head on a turned base | 60 mm |
| Rook | Squat crenellated tower | 55 mm |
| Pawn | Ball resting on a wide neck and base | 50 mm |
All the pieces rest on a wide base and share the same vocabulary of mouldings, which gives the set its unity. It is this consistency that allows makers to vary the details (shape of the knight, thickness of the collars) without disorienting the player.
Frequently asked questions
Who invented the Staunton pattern?
The design was registered on 1 March 1849 in the name of Nathaniel Cooke, who is generally regarded as its designer. It was made by John Jaques of London, who probably helped to perfect the profiles.
Why is the pattern called Staunton?
Because Howard Staunton, the most celebrated player of the day, agreed to sponsor the pattern: he gave it his name, signed the first sets and promoted it in the press.
Why are Jaques sets so expensive?
Because they combine the prestige of a historic house tied to the birth of the pattern, dense woods such as boxwood and ebony, a great deal of finishing work and strong demand from collectors. Antique signed or labelled sets fetch high prices at public auction.
Sources: Wikipedia (en): Staunton chess set (registration of 1 March 1849, Illustrated London News of 8 September 1849); FIDE museum; FIDE equipment standards (2022 and 2026).
Further reading
- Historical stylesRégence, Selenus, Dubrovnik, Lardy: the great families of pieces.
- Piece sizesKing height, base diameter and square size.
- WeightingLead, zinc, steel, double weighting and felt.