What is a Staunton chess set?
This is perhaps our most asked question. The term “Staunton chess set” is used to describe what people normally think of as a traditional chess set with a king that has a crown, queen with a coronet, bishop with a miter, knight that looks like a horse, the rook like a castle tower, and pawn with a collar and round head. The original Staunton chess set was designed and made back in the mid 1800s by Nethaniel Cook. Howard Staunton, a famous chess champion of the era, agreed to endorse the new chess set design. Thus, all similarly designed chess sets since this first, famous Staunton chess set, have unofficially received the name of Staunton attached to it.
