REVISING THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

i am trying to revise both history and terminology in claiming that we should include Labourdonnais, Staunton, Anderssen and Morphy as world champions. If we search the records we find increasing contemporaneous references to the greats of the day being acclaimed as the champion, or the world champion or their games simply being hailed as the best ever played -all well before 1886.

At this time of turmoil in world chess the chess community has the God given opportunity to recognise the Labourdonnais -Macdonnell matches as the first world title contest. They stand out so clearly in extent , importance and quality from anything that ever went before them that they are the overwhelmingly most attractive moment from which to derive the remainder of our world championship history. and from that clash there is a clear line of succession:

staunton st amannt 1843
staunton harrwitz 1846
staunton horwitz 1846
staunton anderssen 1851 plus the vitally important fact that anderssen won the 1851 tournament
anderssen morphy 1858
steinitz anderssen 1866 and then steinitz all the way----

And who are the revisionists ? Well the Staunton Society in its entirety for starters, who have now put on two Staunton memorials in London and whose avowed aim has been to get Staunton recognised as a world champion!!

(i also aim to use this -or an edited version-in my forthcoming book on the Kramnik Leko match -hardinge simpole will of course publish!)