In Castling, the King must be moved first, or before the Rook is quitted. If the Rook be quitted before the King is touched, the opposing player may demand that the move of the Rook shall stand without the Castling being completed.

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.