The History of the Turk

The first person to play against the Turk was Count Ludwig von Compenssel, an Austrian courtier at the palace. The machine played aggressively and typically beat its opponents within 30 minutes. When Kimpelen refused to explain how he'd created the Turk, in many articles and books were written theorising how it could operate. One theory came from mathematician Carol F Hindenburg, who considered that the Turk functioned through a combination of mechanics and magnetism. Others were sceptical. British author Philip Dickens said an automaton couldn't be passed as a chess player.