The Turk

The Turk was a fake chess-playing machine built in the late 18th century to impress Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

Chess Player

1770

July 05, 1854

84

In the late 18th century, Hungarian inventor and author Wolfgang von Kempelen created a unique chess-playing machine known as the Mechanical Turk to impress Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. This intriguing device, also called the Automaton Chess Player, featured a human-like figure dressed in robes and a turban. However, it was eventually revealed to be a hoax, secretly operated by a hidden human chess master.

Despite its deceptive nature, the Mechanical Turk became a cultural icon, inspiring the development of future automatons, robotics, and the concept of artificial intelligence. It also influenced various works of art and literature, such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “Maelzel’s Chess-Player.” The Turk gained fame not only for its chess-playing abilities but also for its capacity to play other board games with simple rules that the operator could easily remember. Audiences were entertained by its mechanical movements and gestures, including nodding its head and sweeping pieces off the board when victorious.

Although the Turk’s true nature was eventually uncovered, its name remained synonymous with the idea of a seemingly automated machine controlled by a person. Today, the Mechanical Turk’s legacy as an extraordinary illusion and an early symbol of artificial intelligence continues to fascinate and intrigue.