Howard Staunton Society Celebrates World Chess Day with Grandmaster Ray Keene OBE
The Howard Staunton Society marked World Chess Day with an evening that reflected its mission of celebrating chess, history, culture and conviviality.…
chess
Barry Martin - In Memoriam
For Barry Martin, chess was never merely a game and art was never merely an image. Somewhere between Staunton and Duchamp, the…
The Second Battle of Waterloo
Waterloo was not England's last great victory on French soil. In 1843, Howard Staunton crossed the Channel to fight a very different…
Defender of the Faiths
The first great chess grandmaster did not play in London, Paris or Moscow, but in the dazzling court of the Abbasid Caliphs.
Gens Una Sumus
Chess has crossed more frontiers than any army, conquered more hearts than any empire, and united more cultures than perhaps any other…
World Chess Day Comes to Soho with a Grandmaster Celebration at L'Escargot
The occasion holds particular significance in Soho, where L'Escargot, London's oldest French restaurant, has long been associated with British chess.
How a mediaeval thinker out of the box: Stupor Mundi, helped me to solve a Chinese puzzle
Inspiration often comes from unlikely sources.
On the Shoulders of Dwarves
The greatest discoveries are often made not by choosing between science and the humanities, but by refusing to recognise the divide.
The Obliteration of Memory
Empires are conquered twice: first by armies, and then by the erasure of memory.
The Art of the Draw
Not every deadlock is a stalemate, and not every defeat is a checkmate. Chess teaches us the difference.
Brave New Game
Every generation believes it has discovered a better way to improve humanity. Inevitably, it begins by rewriting the rules.
Milton’s Cosmic Game of Chess
Some games determine kingdoms. Milton imagined one that determined the destiny of mankind.
The Howard Staunton Society Dinner at L'Escargot
On Friday, 14th November 2025, The Howard Staunton Society marked a historic milestone in its 30-year history with a sold-out black-tie revival…