George Duke wrote on Thu, Mar 6, 2008 09:33 PM UTC:
6 March 1819. From Tom Standage 'The Turk' 2002: Maelzel's handbill
(1819-1820) declared that the Turk, giving odds of Pawn and move, would be displayed together with the automaton trumpeter and the Conflagration of
Moscow. ''The view is from an elevated station on the fortress of the
Kremlin, at the moment when the inhabitants are evacuating the capital of
the czars, and the head of the French columns commences entry. The gradual progress of the fire, the hurrying bustle of the fugitives, the eagerness
of the invaders, and the din of warlike sounds impress the
spectator...'' ''as a combination of 'the arts of design, mechanism, and music, so as to produce, by novel imitation of Nature, perfect facsimile of the real scene'.'' Simultaneously, Maelzel offered for sale his patent of the Beethoven-endorsed Metronomes in order to purchase rental right from Eugene de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson, the Turk's owner for its ongoing use. The Turk continued to beat the most skillful chessplayers in Europe, inspiring discussion about possibility for machine intelligence. Computer pioneer Charles Babbage saw the Turk play at Spring Gardens on March 6, 1819. ''The automaton played very well and had an excellent game in the opening. He gave check-mate by Philidor's Legacy,'' wrote Babbage. ''The following year on February 12, 1820, Babbage went to see the Turk again at St. James' Street and challenged it to a game.'' --Standage 'The Turk' 2002
