The Turk

by Bill Wall

Bill Wall

With a pig on the

seventh,
Capablanca eats
pawns and mounts
mating threats.

Chess automatons are machines that play or appear to

play chess. The first chess Automaton was called the
Turk. In was constructed and unveiled in 1769 by the
Hungarian nobleman Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen
(1734-1804). He built a maple wood cabinet mounted
on wheels. Behind it was a mannequin dressed in cloak
and turban. He called the mannequin "the Turk." It was
also known as the Great Chess Automaton, the
Mechanical Turk, or the Automaton Chess Player. The
Turk was considered the most famous illusion in
history. Kempelen built the Turk to impress the
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780) with a
mechanical device that would be far more surprising
and unaccountable than anything she had ever
witnessed before. Kempelen built the Turk in 6
months.

In 1770 the Turk was exhibited at Schonbrunn Palace in

Vienna at the court of Marie Theresa, the Empress of
Austria. The illusion took the form of a man in Turkish
costume seated at a desk with a chess board in front of
him. Doors and panels were opened up to show no one
was concealed in the desk. Inside were mechanical
wheels and pulleys that made it look like the inside of a
clock. The Turk was then wound up and set in
operation to play chess or perform the knight's tour.
Against all comers, it would play chess with its left
hand and win 99% of the time.

The first person to play the Turk was Count Johann

Ludwig Joseph Graf von Cobenzl (1753-1809), an
Austrian courtier and diplomat. He lost in less than 30
minutes. The Turk played several other opponents that
day and won all its games. After the exhibition,
Kempelen disassembled and retired the automaton to
work on other projects.

In 1781, Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790) ordered

Kempelen to reconstruct the Turk and display it in
Vienna during a state visit from the Grand Duke Paul of
Russia. Kempelen restored the Turk in 5 weeks and had
it ready for the state visit. After the exhibition with the
emperor, Kempelen was urged to put the Turk on public
exhibition throughout Germany.

In 1783, the Turk went on tour all across Europe over

many years. The Turk toured throughout Europe,
shown to thousands of people. It was exhibited to large
crowds in Paris and London. Many spectators believed
that an evil spirit possessed the machine.

In May 1783, the Turk played at the famous Cafe de la

Regence and beat most of the skilled players there.
Finally, Francois-Andre Danican Philidor, considered
the strongest chess player in the world at the time,
played and beat the Turk. Philidor went on to say that
the game he played against the Turk was the most
fatiguing game he had ever played.

The Turk's final game in Paris was against Benjamin

Franklin. Franklin lost, but reported that he enjoyed the
game. Franklin was interested in the Turk for the rest of
his life and kept up with any news of the Turk.

In 1784, the Turk was exhibited in London. Opponents

could play against it for 5 shillings. The Turk stayed in
London for a year.

In 1785, the Turk went on tour in Leipzig, Dresden,

Amsterdam and various other cities. After the tour,
Kempelen put the Turk in storage and tried to sell it in
the early 1800s for 20,000 francs.

In 1804, von Kempelen died and his son took

possession of the Turk. In 1805, Johann Nepomuk
Maelzel (1772-1838), a Bavarian musician, bought the
Turk from Kempelen's son for 10,000 francs. Maelzel,
the inventor of the metronome, added a voice box to the
automaton so that it could say check (echec in French)
during a game.

In July 1809, the Turk (Johann Baptist Allgaier)

defeated Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) at
Schroenbrunn in Austria, during the Wagram campaign.
Napoleon lost in 24 moves.
Napoleon Bonaparte — The Turk, Schoenbrunn, 1809
1. e4 {During this game, the Turk was operated by
Johann Allgaier.} e5 2. Qf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ne2 Bc5
5. a3 d6 6. O-O Bg4 7. Qd3 Nh5 8. h3 Bxe2 9. Qxe2
Nf4 10. Qe1 Nd4 11. Bb3 Nxh3+ 12. Kh2 Qh4 13. g3
Nf3+ 14. Kg2 Nxe1+ 15. Rxe1 Qg4 16. d3 Bxf2 17.
Rh1 Qxg3+ 18. Kf1 Bd4 19. Ke2 Qg2+ 20. Kd1 Qxh1+
21. Kd2 Qg2+ 22. Ke1 Ng1 23. Nc3 Bxc3+ 24. bxc3
Qe2# 0-1
In 1811, Maelzel went to Milan for a performance with
Prince Eugene de Beauhamais (1781-1824), Napoleon's
stepson. The Prince then bought the Turk for 30,000
francs. The prince bought the Turk simply to learn how
it worked (hidden operator). Maelzel gave part of the
money from the sale to Ludwig von Beethoven to
compose music.

In 1815, Maelzel went to Munich and bought back the

Turk from de Beauharnais. Maelzel agreed to pay the
prince from the profits of the Turk's tour.

Maelzel stayed in Paris with the Turk from 1815 to

1818. He then moved to London in 1819 and took the
Turk on a tour of the United Kingdom. The Turk's
operator at the time was Jacques Francois Mouret
(1787-1837), a French chess master. The Turk would
first play some endgames in the afternoon with any
opponent, which it always won. Challengers selected a
position from the Turk's book of endgames. The Turk
got the first move in whatever position was selected,
which meant that it always had the winning chances.
The Turk would then play full games in the evenings.
The Turk always played White and had the first move.
When giving check, the Turk moved its head. After a
game, the Turk would perform a knight's tour. The
Turk's games had to be one hour or less. The candle
inside the Turk's chamber used up the oxygen, so the
operator had about an hour's worth of oxygen when
performing.

The Prince agreed to be paid from the profits of the

Turk, but he died in 1824. The prince's heirs sued
Maelzel for the balance. Maelzel later fled to America
with the Turk to escape debts and the lawsuit. Maelzel
then traveled to Britain and displayed the Turk for 5
shillings.

Maelzel returned to America in 1825 and exhibited the

Turk in New York City in 1826. Maelzel then did
exhibits in Boston and Philadelphia. The Turk became
so popular in Philadelphia that the first chess club in
America, the Franklin Chess Club, was formed in
Philadelphia due to the Turk. By now, the Turk's
operator was William Schlumberger of France.
In 1827 in Baltimore, Charles Carroll (1737-1832), last
surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence,
played the Turk and won. Carroll was 89 years old at
the time.

In 1827, another chess automaton, the Walker Chess-

player, made its appearance. It was created by the
Walker Brothers of Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1828, Maelzel returned to Europe with the Turk, but

then returned back to America in 1829.

In the 1830s, the Turk toured throughout the United

States and Canada.

In 1835, the Turk was on display in Richmond, Virginia

and Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) saw it and took an
interest in it. In April 1836, Poe wrote an article in the
Southern Literary Magazine. The article, 'Maelzel's
Chess-Player,' was an attempt to explain how the Turk
operated.

In 1837, Maelzel took the Turk to Cuba for an

exhibition. A year later, William Schlumberger, the
Turk operator, caught yellow fever and died in Cuba. In
1838, Maelzel also caught yellow fever and decided to
return to America. On the way to New York, he died
onboard the ship. He was buried at sea off Charleston,
South Carolina.

Upon the return of the ship to New York, The Turk fell
into the hands of one of Maelzel's friends, John Ohl. He
tried to sell the Turk at a public auction, but owing to
low bidding, Ohl bought it himself for $400.

In 1839, Dr. John Kearsley Mitchell, Edgar Allan Poe's

personal physician, bought the Turk from Ohl, restored
it, and then donated it to a Chinese Museum in
Philadelphia, where it remained for 15 years, never to
be used.

The Turk ended up in the Chinese Museum of Charles

Willson Peale in Philadelphia, where it remained, never
to be used. On July 5, 1854, the Turk was destroyed in
 a fire. A fire was started at the National Theater in
Philadelphia and spread to the Chinese Museum.

In its 85 years, at least 15 chess experts and masters

occupied the Turk. Over the years, some of the secret
operators of the Turk included Johann Allgaier,
Boncourt, Aaron Alexandre, William Lewis, Jacques
Mouret, and William Schlumberger.

In 1859, the great magician Jean Robert-Houdin wrote

his memoirs and tried to explain how the Turk operated,
even though he never saw the Turk in action. He
thought an amputee operated the Turk.

In 1984, John Gaughan, a manufacturer of equipment

for magicians, started building a replica of the Turk. It
was finished in 1989 and displayed at a magic
conference. The human opponent was replaced by a
chess program.

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