The secret behind the mechanical turk

An ingenious tool, an automated machine built by the Hungarian visionary Wolfgang von Kempelen and which made players across half of Europe believe they could challenge an automated player

In an era of artificial intelligence, bots, and virtual reality, it’s normal to challenge real or virtual opponents worldwide. But in the 1700s, things were vastly different: people traveled by carriage or ship, read only newspapers or books, wrote letters, and time seemed to pass much more slowly.

Even in the courts of European royalty, people sought ways to entertain themselves and pass the time pleasantly, creating opportunities for artists and inventors alike.

An ingenious machine at the Austrian court

In 1769, a magician entertained Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. The illusion performance inspired Hungarian writer Wolfgang von Kempelen, who the following year presented the Mechanical Turk, a mannequin dressed in traditional attire, complete with a turban. It was placed on a large wooden box housing hidden gears behind various doors, capable of challenging any player. It was an incredible success.

An unstoppable phenomenon

In 1783, Kempelen and his machine began a tour of France, with stops in Paris and Versailles. They won (and lost) several matches against the best chess players of the time, amusing opponents like US ambassador Benjamin Franklin. Kempelen and the Turk moved to London, then Leipzig, Amsterdam, and back to Vienna.

After Kempelen’s death in 1804, the machine became the property of Bavarian musician Johann Nepomuk Mälzel and continued its tour, challenging Napoleon in various matches before embarking on a long journey to Paris, Milan, New York, Boston, and Havana. During the return trip, Mälzel died, and the Turk, auctioned off, became the property of John Kearsley Mitchell of Philadelphia, Edgar Allan Poe’s personal physician.

The machine was eventually donated to Charles Willson Peale’s Chinese Museum, where it was destroyed in a fire on July 5, 1854.

A bluff lasting over 60 years

Throughout the appearances of this machine, many tried to uncover its workings. Some speculated that a child was hidden inside the wooden base. In 1836, writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe dedicated a piece to his doubts about the movements of this player, the excessive number of mechanical components, and its inability to win every match. There was much wonder and also many legitimate doubts.

How did this Turk work?

Externally, the machine looked like a wooden sculpture with a life-sized mannequin resting on a cabinet. The right arm was placed on this structure, while the left held a vintage pipe. The front of the cabinet had three doors that concealed a complex mechanical system; part of the space remained empty, with a sliding chair for a skilled “hidden” player. The mannequin’s gaze was fixed on the top of the cabinet where a chessboard was connected to an internal, numbered board from 1 to 64, with magnets necessary to replicate the external player’s moves.

Challenges in light and shadow

The matches were held in dim light for up to an hour. The noisy machine was activated while the player inside began to move, illuminated by a candle. Smoke came from the turban, which aroused no suspicion because two candelabras were placed to light the chessboard. Each square had two holes, one for positioning the Turk’s arm connected to the real player through a metal rod.

Thus, the ingenious mechanism that kept experts and onlookers in suspense for so many years was revealed. The Mechanical Turk was reconstructed using the original chessboard and completed in 1984. In 2005, it inspired Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), a crowdsourcing platform for computer programmers.

Sources: ChessGames/MTurk