The Staunton chess set is the standard style of chess pieces, recommended for use in competition since 2022 by FIDE, the international chess governing body.
The English journalist Nathaniel Cooke is credited with the design on the patent, and the design is named after the leading English chess master Howard Staunton, who endorsed it; the first 500Â sets were numbered and hand-signed by Staunton. This style of set was first made available by Jaques of London in 1849, and it quickly became the standard. The set style and its variations have been used around the world since.