London 1851 chess tournament

London 1851 was the first international chess tournament. The tournament was conceived and organised by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess players in Europe would meet in a single event. Adolf Anderssen of Germany won the sixteen-player tournament, earning him the status of the best player in Europe.

In May 1851, London staged the Great Exhibition to showcase British industry and technology, and London's thriving chess community felt obliged to do something similar for chess. Howard Staunton proposed and then took the lead in organizing the first ever international tournament, to be held at the same time. He thought the Great Exhibition presented a unique opportunity because the difficulties that obstructed international participation would be greatly reduced, for example it would be easier for contestants to obtain passports and leave from work.

In 1848 a letter had been published in which Ludwig Bledow proposed that he and von der Lasa should organize in Trier (Germany) an international tournament whose winner should be recognized as the world champion (Bledow died in 1846; it is not known why publication was delayed). News of this may also have motivated Staunton to organize the London International tournament.

Staunton and his colleagues had ambitious objectives for this tournament, including convening a "Chess Parliament" to: complete the standardization of the moves and other rules, as there were still very small national differences and a few self-contradictions; to standardize chess notation; to agree time limits, as many players were notorious for simply "out-sitting" opponents. Staunton also proposed the production of a compendium showing what was known about chess openings, preferably as a table. Since he thought there would not be time for a single "Chess Parliament" session to handle this as well, he suggested further congresses, some perhaps including knowledgeable enthusiasts of below top-class playing strength, and a review process for dealing with contentious issues and possible mistakes in earlier decisions.

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