How did the chess machine in the 18th century manage to fool the world?

For most of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the chess machine known as the Turk was attracting crowds of onlookers throughout Europe and the United States of America. In fact, the alleged robot, beating visitors at exhibitions, was a grand deception. But the machine was so ingeniously designed that he managed to fool the public for a long 80 years. Before his riddle was uncovered, he was able to beat such influential chess lovers as Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin.

The beginning of American history

In early 1826, the well-known European "chess master" arrived in New York with a debut. The presentation of the machine was widely advertised. Thousands of people learned about the arrival of the clever curiosity from newspaper articles and advertising. It is not unusual that the first exhibition, held on Broadway in the National Hotel, could not accommodate all comers. There were only 200 visitors. To their great joy in the hall were two good grandmasters. The audience heard about the invincibility of the machine, which had already traveled all the largest countries in Europe. However, the American grandmasters did not live up to the expectations of the crowd. They extremely easily surrendered to the mercy of the winner.

Peak of popularity

In America, the excitement of the public was supported by all major publications of the country. They posted information about the unbeaten grandmaster on the front pages. And every time in the halls more and more onlookers were jamming in the hope that at least one person will be lucky enough to win. The advanced minds of that time had a logical question: how does a mechanical robot manage to remain invincible all the time? It seemed to all that the Turk could reason. And how else to explain his intellectual abilities in the battle with the strongest grandmasters of his time? Nobody will deny that chess is the most complex intellectual game.

The Austrian Baron wanted to impress the Empress's imagination

This ingenious machine could survive several hosts. For the first time the Turk was introduced to the court of the Austro-Hungarian Empress Maria-Theresa in 1769. The inventor of this miracle is the Austrian Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen. This man was not a charlatan, he deserved himself an honest name at the court of the inventor. But he always dreamed of impressing the Empress's imagination and vowed to design an automaton that would surpass all that had been invented by man to this day. In order for the work on the project not to be interrupted by other pressing issues, Maria Teresa granted the inventor a long vacation.

What did the Turk look like?

His offspring was nothing more than a mannequin in natural human size. The robot always sat behind a large wooden cabinet. The interior of the mechanism resembled the interior of the clock, with a lot of cranks and levers. The mannequin was dressed in colorful Turkish clothes, he had a traditional turban on his head, and a pipe in his hand. It is because of this original image that the machine was called the Turk.

The car appeared six months later

Wolfgang von Kepelen returned to court six months later. The first performance of the Turk was held in 1770 before Maria Theresa and a group of courtiers. All present watched as the inventor rolled out a dummy, placed on a cabinet in the height of 1.2 meters. And then began the act, which will continue to be repeated countless times: Kempelen opened the doors of the cabinet, so that all those gathered could be sure that the person was not sitting inside. The audience saw the internal mechanism of the device perfectly. They were calm. All is clean, no deception. After the first volunteer was summoned to the machine, the inventor approached the mechanism and twisted the handle. The Turk revived and slowly turned his mechanical head from side to side. Then he held out his hand, took a pawn and made the first move in the game.

The audience was confused

Very soon the Turk made a real sensation, and not only at the court of the empress. The audience was confused. People did not know how to react to it. Some immediately rushed to put forward their own versions. Among the conjectures, the most frequently repeated two: the control mechanism with the help of magnets and the participation of a young prodigy hidden inside the dummy. However, it could be a dwarf. People perfectly understood that it was impossible to hide inside a dummy for an ordinary person. It is curious that for each skeptic there was a man who considered Turk a technological miracle. One of the observers described the creation of Baron von Kempelen as follows: "It is impossible to achieve a more perfect knowledge of mechanics than this master".

European tour

Very soon Maria-Teresa was fed up with a never-losing toy. However, in 1783 her successor, Emperor Joseph II, again revived interest in Turk. He forced to send the slot machine on tour in Europe. In Paris, the clever machine fought against Benjamin Franklin, the then American ambassador in France. Then the Turks visited England, Germany and the Netherlands. A couple of times he visited the court of Catherine II. At each stop he defeated all his opponents and puzzled puzzled scientists. No man could find a logical explanation for this phenomenon.

New owner

In 1804, Kempelen died, and his offspring was bought by the German inventor and showman Johannes Meltsel. It was a good investment of capital, because an enterprising German toured with Turk for the rest of his life. And everywhere he collected sold out. Meltzel brought a little more polish to the slot machine. He supplied the Turk with a voice mechanism, which when threatened by the king of the opponent pronounced the word "Shah!". This was even more amazing for the public. In 1809, a chess match was organized between Turk and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. According to eyewitnesses, the French sovereign tried to manipulate the moves, but every time the Turk shook his head reproachfully and returned the figure to its rightful place.

Skeptical Disclosures

During the American tour of the slot machine, a young writer Edgar Alan Poe came to one of Turk's benefices. Later, the author published a revealing essay, where he asserted that inside the mechanism there is a person who manages the course of the game: "I am absolutely sure of it. All the moves of the machine are controlled by the human mind. " Edgar Poe was by far not the first skeptic. Since the invention of Turk in the eighties of the 18th century, progressive minds of Europe have written several brochures and exposures. Intellectuals were sure that the machine can not play on its own. Among the most famous skeptics, besides Edgar Poe, one can name the British writer Robert Willis, who claimed that the grandmaster hid inside the cabinet and controlled the game with the help of a system of levers.

Secret of Turk

And yet the critics were right about the grandmaster, who controlled the process, sitting in the closet. In fact, all the internal mechanisms of the cabinet did not function. They were exhibited for the public and occupied only a part of the box. Inside, there was enough space for a person to fit in. At the base of the figures located on the chessboard, the magnets were fixed. Inside, under each square there was a metal ball hanging on the thread. The "shadow" grandmaster could not see the course of the match. He understood about where the enemy moves his pieces when he saw a sluggish ball in front of him. The reciprocal moves he made with the help of a system of levers. They also activated the hands and head of the dummy.

Of course, inside the closet was to sit a real expert in chess. For a long time, many experienced players visited the mechanism. Well, during the American tour, Meltzel used the services of the European grandmaster William Schlumberger, who pretended to be the personal secretary of the inventor.

The death of the machine gun

In 1838, the owner of Turk died during a sea voyage from Cuba to the United States. So the machine fell into the hands of one of the creditors. In the end, the brainchild of Baron Kemplen was sold to a syndicate of enthusiasts interested in uncovering the truth. Subsequently, the Turk was exhibited in the museum of Philadelphia. July 5, 1854 85-year-old "chess player" burned during a fire in the building.