Official Staunton in Latin America | Ajedrez Alta Gama
Official Staunton in Latin America
The story of the Staunton chessmen has always travelled far beyond Britain. Today, a new generation of collectors and chess enthusiasts is discovering these historic designs throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Chess heritage without borders
From the introduction of the Staunton pattern in nineteenth-century London to tournament halls, chess clubs and private collections around the world, great chessmen have never belonged to one country alone.
Official Staunton is therefore delighted to see our work being discovered, examined and discussed by chess enthusiasts far beyond the United Kingdom.
This page celebrates those independent voices. Our first featured contributor is Mexican chess enthusiast Feliciano Sánchez Romero, creator of the Spanish-language YouTube channel Ajedrez Alta Gama.
Feliciano Sánchez Romero
Creator of Ajedrez Alta Gama • Mexico
Through Ajedrez Alta Gama, Feliciano Sánchez Romero presents chess sets and chess culture to a Spanish-speaking audience with a particular interest in fine chessmen, historic designs and the world of premium chess.
His interest in Official Staunton brings another perspective to the story of the chessmen we reproduce and the original designs that inspired them.
We are pleased to support independent chess content and encourage visitors interested in his work to explore Ajedrez Alta Gama directly on YouTube.
Visit Ajedrez Alta Gama on YouTube →Official Staunton arrives in Latin America
Feliciano introduces Official Staunton to viewers of Ajedrez Alta Gama in this Spanish-language presentation.
Why the Staunton design continues to fascinate collectors
More than a century and a half after the Staunton pattern became established as the defining form of modern chessmen, collectors continue to examine its many historic interpretations.
Much of our own work at Official Staunton is centred upon that history: studying surviving examples, understanding their proportions and character, and creating reproductions inspired by important chessmen from different periods.
The appeal is often found in details that can easily be overlooked: the profile of a knight, the sweep of a bishop, the relationship between king and queen, the shape of a rook or the balance of the pieces on the board.
Independent presentations such as those produced by Feliciano allow these details to be seen from another point of view — and introduce historic chess design to audiences who may be encountering it for the first time.
Revisiting the great chessmen of the past
Our interest in historic chessmen goes beyond creating pieces that simply resemble an old design. The personality of an historic set is often defined by proportion, turning, weighting, finishing and the individual character of the knight.
Official Staunton reproductions are produced using specialist workshop methods, including pantograph duplication where appropriate, followed by extensive hand finishing and detailing.
Natural variations are part of working with timber and traditional finishing methods. They are also part of what gives fine chessmen their individual character.
Explore the Official Staunton story
Discover our historical research, chess-set guides, reference material and the stories behind important Staunton designs.
Visit the Official Staunton Knowledge Centre →
Following the journey
This is the beginning of an ongoing feature. As Ajedrez Alta Gama publishes further examinations of Official Staunton chessmen, selected presentations will be added here together with historical background, English editorial summaries and links to the designs being discussed.
Discover more from Feliciano
Visit Ajedrez Alta Gama on YouTube for Spanish-language videos exploring chess sets, collectors' pieces and the world of fine chess.
Visit Ajedrez Alta GamaOfficial Staunton Under the Collector's Eye
Feliciano Sánchez Romero continues his independent exploration of Official Staunton, this time taking a closer look at the brand and asking a particularly interesting question for collectors of fine chess sets.
An Independent Collector's Perspective
In his latest video for Ajedrez Alta Gama, Mexican chess enthusiast Feliciano Sánchez Romero continues his examination of Official Staunton for collectors and chess enthusiasts throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
It is an intriguing question, and importantly, it is Feliciano's question rather than ours. His videos represent his own independent observations and experiences as a chess enthusiast and collector.
That independence is one of the reasons we are pleased to feature his work here. Fine chess sets invite comparison. Collectors notice proportions, finishing, presentation, materials, the character of the knights and the numerous small details that can distinguish one interpretation of the Staunton pattern from another.
We believe collectors should be able to examine different chessmen, listen to different opinions and ultimately reach their own conclusions. Independent presentations such as those produced by Ajedrez Alta Gama add another perspective to that conversation.
Feliciano's growing series is also introducing Official Staunton to chess enthusiasts in Mexico, Latin America and the wider Spanish-speaking chess community. For us, there is something particularly fitting about seeing the Staunton pattern continue its journey around the world more than 175 years after the design first became associated with the modern game.