For playing a man to a square to which it cannot be legally moved, the adversary, at his option, may require him to move the man legally, or to move the King.

Modern commentators consider Staunton's understanding of positional play to have been far ahead of his contemporaries'. In 1858 attempts were made to organise a match between Staunton and Morphy but they failed. Staunton has been a controversial figure since his own time and his chess writings could be spiteful.