The Turk, Chess Automaton

Rating:
Summary: "Must" reading for chess enthusiasts & hoax buffs.
Review: From 1770 to 1855, the European chess communities were held spellbound with Baron Wolfgang von Kemplene's amazing automaton popularly known as "The Turk". It was ostensibly an automatic chess playing machine, but was in reality one of the most successful hoaxes perpetrated on the public. The Turk was manipulated by a man housed in a hot box (working by candlelight). In addition to playing a good game of chess within an hour's time, the hidden director had to keep track of the position, move the pieces with the pantograph arm apparatus, nod the head, roll the eyes, cover up sneezes and coughs, and work the mechanism that spoke the word "Echeck!". Gerald Levitt's superbly researched, written, and presented history of this amazing hoax includes an extensive analysis of how it operated, a collection of published games played by the Turk (several unknown for 200 years), and numerous other games known to have been played by the Turk's hidden directors. The Turk, Chess Automaton is "must" reading for all chess history enthusiasts and students of 18th century hoaxes and popular culture.

Rating:
Summary: "Must" reading for chess enthusiasts & hoax buffs.
Review: From 1770 to 1855, the European chess communities were held spellbound with Baron Wolfgang von Kemplene's amazing automaton popularly known as "The Turk". It was ostensibly an automatic chess playing machine, but was in reality one of the most successful hoaxes perpetrated on the public. The Turk was manipulated by a man housed in a hot box (working by candlelight). In addition to playing a good game of chess within an hour's time, the hidden director had to keep track of the position, move the pieces with the pantograph arm apparatus, nod the head, roll the eyes, cover up sneezes and coughs, and work the mechanism that spoke the word "Echeck!". Gerald Levitt's superbly researched, written, and presented history of this amazing hoax includes an extensive analysis of how it operated, a collection of published games played by the Turk (several unknown for 200 years), and numerous other games known to have been played by the Turk's hidden directors. The Turk, Chess Automaton is "must" reading for all chess history enthusiasts and students of 18th century hoaxes and popular culture.

Rating:
Summary: A Sensational Chess Playing Machine
Review: Over two hundred years ago, good chess players were playing against a machine, and generally being defeated by it. The machine was the famous chess-playing automaton "The Turk," and although it has been extensively written about for centuries, much of what has been written is just wrong. No one has collected as much history about the Turk as Gerald M. Levitt, a chess player and writer who has written _The Turk, Chess Automaton_ (McFarland & Company). It is a fascinating history of the machine and what people made of it.

How it worked was a trick, but an exceedingly clever one that has been speculated upon in various ways ever since the Turk made its debut. It was an intricate mechanism, to be sure. That mechanical arm really was picking up the pieces and moving them, and somehow the machine could see what move its opponent had just made. But the main part of the machine was a human chess player concealed within the table. (Even if you know this, the way the Turk saw the board and moved the pieces will be a surprise.) The doors of the cabinets inside the table were opened one at a time and no player could be seen, but that is because the cabinet was a cleverly designed magical apparatus that allowed him to scoot around in it to remain concealed as the various doors were opened.

During its career, the Turk played the chess champion Philidor, Benjamin Franklin, and Napoleon. It was taken on tours of the world, and crowds were amazed by it. Eventually, it wound up in a museum in Philadelphia, and was burned up in a fire in 1854. _The Turk, Chess Automaton_ proves to be a grand history of the Turk's amazing career, but it is also a good deal more. For real chess freaks, all the moves of the known games played by the Turk or its various operators are given here. During the years of its operation, many different theories about how the machine worked were voiced and written about, and Levitt has included many of the original documents. By far the most famous writer about the Turk was Edgar Allen Poe, whose 1836 article is reproduced here. Among the useful appendices to this entertaining and well-illustrated book is the final one: the Turk has been resurrected. A maker of equipment for professional magicians has made a faithful copy of it. It has been shown in various seminars on the history of magic. And the Turk still fools people.

Rating:
Summary: A Sensational Chess Playing Machine
Review: Over two hundred years ago, good chess players were playing against a machine, and generally being defeated by it. The machine was the famous chess-playing automaton "The Turk," and although it has been extensively written about for centuries, much of what has been written is just wrong. No one has collected as much history about the Turk as Gerald M. Levitt, a chess player and writer who has written _The Turk, Chess Automaton_ (McFarland & Company). It is a fascinating history of the machine and what people made of it.

How it worked was a trick, but an exceedingly clever one that has been speculated upon in various ways ever since the Turk made its debut. It was an intricate mechanism, to be sure. That mechanical arm really was picking up the pieces and moving them, and somehow the machine could see what move its opponent had just made. But the main part of the machine was a human chess player concealed within the table. (Even if you know this, the way the Turk saw the board and moved the pieces will be a surprise.) The doors of the cabinets inside the table were opened one at a time and no player could be seen, but that is because the cabinet was a cleverly designed magical apparatus that allowed him to scoot around in it to remain concealed as the various doors were opened.

During its career, the Turk played the chess champion Philidor, Benjamin Franklin, and Napoleon. It was taken on tours of the world, and crowds were amazed by it. Eventually, it wound up in a museum in Philadelphia, and was burned up in a fire in 1854. _The Turk, Chess Automaton_ proves to be a grand history of the Turk's amazing career, but it is also a good deal more. For real chess freaks, all the moves of the known games played by the Turk or its various operators are given here. During the years of its operation, many different theories about how the machine worked were voiced and written about, and Levitt has included many of the original documents. By far the most famous writer about the Turk was Edgar Allen Poe, whose 1836 article is reproduced here. Among the useful appendices to this entertaining and well-illustrated book is the final one: the Turk has been resurrected. A maker of equipment for professional magicians has made a faithful copy of it. It has been shown in various seminars on the history of magic. And the Turk still fools people.