In the late 18th century, a fabulous new scientific oddity was the toast of Europe. The Turk, a chess-playing automaton built by Wolfgang von Kempelen, was defeating chess masters across Europe. It was a true marvel of the times -- a machine, built after the fashion of a Turkish ruler, that was capable of thought. Built for the amusement of Empress Maria Theresa of Hungary, it played chess, the game of kings, against rulers and commoners alike. In 1808, it played its most famous foe, Napoleon Bonaparte. The Turk was eventually retired, sold, and was destroyed in a fire at Peale's Chinese Museum in Philadelphia in 1854. But what was the secret behind this machine that dazzled royalty and astounded the court machinicians? Robert Lohr devises a tale for The Turk full of intrigue and heartbreak in his novel, The Chess Machine.

My full review is here.

Interesting adaptation of the true story of Wolfgang von Kempelen's chess playing automaton. It intertwines real people with fictional characters such as Tibor, the Italian dwarf who is the first brains of the machine. The historical story was interesting but the characters and how they interact are what makes the story.
This was an audiobook. The narrator was clear and interesting. The story follows two time tracks and at times I found myself having to reorient myself to which track we were on. Still all in all very interesting. ( )

Tibor Scardinelli is a chess playing destitute dwarf down on his luck and thrown into prison when he receives a visit from Baron Wolfgang Von Kempelen in his cell. Von Kempelen gives him an intriguing offer. He will arrange the release of Tibor from his cell if he will agree to work for him as the secret brain of his chess playing machine.

Von Kempelen is desperate. He rashly promised Empress Maria Theresa that he could build a machine that could think and she gave him 6 months to do it in. He decided to build a machine that could play chess and win every game but of course in the 18th century, such technology is impossible. So he decides to cheat and hide a man inside the machine to make the moves instead. He needs Tibor to be that man. But initially he says no.

He finally agrees and the chess machine becomes a sensation as everyone thinks that it is a real thinking machine - the "Turk". But then a prominent high society woman dies in the Turk's presence and suddenly von Kempelen and Tibor are in a tight spot. Questions start to be asked about the Turk and how it works. Tibor starts to want out of the arrangement. Von Kempelen starts to take measures to protect his investment. The dead woman's relatives want revenge. People at court want to take down von Kempelen and humiliate him. Von Kempelen's wife wants their old life back.

This is an excellent book and I can see a movie coming out of this. There were parts which dragged a little and parts which stretched credibility to the limits. But nevertheless, it's still an excellent story and one which I highly recommend. You don't even need to like chess to like the story! ( )

Too speculative, for a work of non-fiction, and too unoriginal for a work of fiction. The first dozen pages start out with great promise, but then it simply becomes a pulp thriller with the chess automaton as just a peripheral plot element.It really has a cool cover though! ( )

The idea that this was based on actual events intrigued me, but I soon realized that it was mostly fiction. The actual events associated with von Kempelen's chess machine are not well documented and the actual machine is long lost. I was hoping that we had diaries or letters or some such to draw from, but we don't and the author's imagination had to fill in much of the story.

That's not to say the story wasn't interesting or compelling. It was. The story is told in mostly the linear style with occasional flashes forward in time. This reassures us that certain characters prevail or at least survive, but does not diminish the suspense; we want to know what happened and how. The human element was obviously the most fascinating. As soon as von Kempelen 'rescued' Tibor, I knew it would only be a matter of time until it became strained. The balance of power in that relationship was very much on the side of Tibor until von Kempelen managed to tie Tibor to a murder. When Tibor tired of being the chess machine's brain and tried to make a break for freedom, von Kempelen's threats of exposure, prison and possible execution transformed his at will chess-playing to virtual enslavement.

Von Kempelen could not separate his life from the machine no matter how ruinous it became for him. The dead woman's brother wished revenge. His wife begged him to give up the chess machine. A rival machinist, still stung by his loss to The Turk, planted a spy in von Kempelen's household to ferret out the secret of the chess automaton. Tibor was tired and his engineer wanted to leave his employ as well. But von Kempelen would not stop. He craved the fame and fortune that came with exhibiting The Turk. He also feared he would never be able to top it.

The Turk itself is very interesting and at the same time, hard to imagine. We've come so far from mechanical clockwork devices that it's difficult to envision such a contraption. It was basically a large cabinet with a mechanical man built into the side and facing a chessboard on its surface. The automaton was dressed as a Turk and thus the name. The cabinet design concealed a compartment where Tibor would work the machinery and execute The Turk's moves. This was done without direct visual aid and depended too much on ideal circumstances. When the Empress decides that her match must take place outside in the blazing summer sun it becomes a disaster.

It was touted as a thinking machine which is unimaginable to me because of its mechanical nature. How could anyone think that this collection of gears and wheels could actually reason? But as clockwork was the height of machinery advancement, the people thought it could. Except for the rival machinist who knew there had to be a trick. This man turned over many ideas in his head about what could really be driving the automaton. Maybe it was von Kempelen himself since he was never far from the apparatus during play. He even checked the inside to see if there was a man in there (the cabinet itself was so cleverly designed, people could look right in both sides and never see Tibor). But since the cabinet was too small for a regular sized person to hide in he dismissed the idea without it occurring to him that it might be a dwarf. The attitudes toward dwarves by the normally statured are astounding to me; they were abominations or works of the devil and many people didn't even count them as human. Of course it didn't occur to them that one might be the secret to the whole operation.

The writing is fairly straightforward and reads somewhat like an encyclopedia. I'm not sure if this is due to the author or the translation. What is lost in verve is made up for in pacing and plot structure. Luckily for me, as I'm not a chess player nor have much interest in the game, not much of the novel is taken up by play information or lots of boring lists of moves or gambits. It is interesting though to read about how popular a pastime it was and how so many people could play. The ending is a bit weak, but it does build a great amount of tension so the calmness of the final chapter is necessary. There are some nice comeuppances along the way, too, but no revenge is complete.

There are few sympathetic characters. Tibor himself is the most sympathetic. Dwarfism is a heavy burden for him and he seems to go from master to master and has not lived a truly independent life. He is also often targeted for theft, betrayal and cruel practical jokes. He is very religious and his transgressions and sins really trouble him. The author says he transformed von Kempelen's true character as recorded by his contemporaries, but he had to for the sake of the fiction he wove around the facts. It is too bad there isn't more documentation, but given the heavy secrecy surrounding The Turk, it's not surprising. It's also quite sad that the automaton itself hasn't survived. It would be something to see. ( )