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Artikelnummer
LXLEVTTCA

The Turk, Chess Automaton

258 Seiten, kartoniert, McFarland, 2000

39,95 €
Inkl. MwSt., zzgl. Versandkosten
With all-new research revealing facts unrecalled for two centuries, this is a richly detailed and exhaustive account of the elaborate and astonishing 18th Century chess-playing machine in human form known as "the Turk," Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen's amazing Automaton that held the world spellbound for 85 years beginning in 1770.
In actuality, the Turk was manipulated by a man housed in a hot box, working by candlelight - but the secret was kept for decades. In addition to playing a good game of chess within an hour's time, the hidden director had to keep track of the position, move the pieces with the pantograph arm apparatus, nod the head, roll the eyes, cover up sneezes and coughs, and work the mechanism that spoke the word "Échec!"
This work contains a detailed discussion of the sizeable body of literature surrounding the Turk along with an extensive analysis of its hidden Operation. A collection of published games played by the Turk, many, again, unknown for 200 years, is also included, along with numerous other games known to have been played elsewhere by the Turk's hidden directors.
Gerald M. Levitt has been playing postal and over-the-board chess for many years. He has authored numerous articles for Chess Life and floridaCHESS, written a chess column, and made live radio appearances as a chess expert. A retired doctor of podiatric medicine, he lives in Naples, Florida.
Weitere Informationen
Gewicht 800 g
Hersteller McFarland
Breite 16,1 cm
Höhe 21,2 cm
Medium Buch
Erscheinungsjahr 2000
Autor Jonathan Levitt
Sprache Englisch
ISBN-10 0786407786
ISBN-13 9780786429035
Seiten 258
Einband kartoniert
Contents

vii Acknowledgments
001 Preface
003 Introduction

Part One. The History

009 Chapter 1. SCHöNBRUNN PALACE, VIENNA
014 Chapter 2. EXCITEMENT AT THE EXHIBITION
018 Chapter 3. REQUIESCAT
023 Chapter 4. THE RESURRECTION
030 Chapter 5. MANY MOONS AND MANY WIVES
038 Chapter 6. THE MUSICAL SHOWMAN AND THE EMPEROR'S ATTACK
044 Chapter 7. THE MEN IN HIDING
049 Chapter 8. MOURET'S FIFTY GAMES IN LONDON AS THE TURK
064 Chapter 9. TROUBLES IN THE NEW WORLD
070 Chapter 10. MULHOUSE
074 Chapter 11. PHILADELPHIA, BALTIMORE, AND AN ATTACK OF SPIES
081 Chapter 12. FAKES, TRAVELS, AND EXPOSES
087 Chapter 13. DISASTER STRIKES
092 Chapter 14. THE PHOENIX

Part Two. The Mystery

101 Chapter 15. WlNDISCH, DUTENS, DECREMPS - THE MYSTERY FERMENTS
107 Chapter 16. THICKNESSE AND RACKNITZ - ENEMY AND ADMIRER
119 Chapter 17. HUNNEMAN, WlLLIS, AND BRADFORD - CRACKING THE DARKNESS
130 Chapter 18. BREWSTER AND EDGAR ALLAN POE - THE ATTACKS STRENGTHEN
138 Chapter 19. MOURET - THE KEY UNLOCKS THE DOOR
144 Chapter 20. MlTCHELL - THE HERO IS SAVED AND SECRETS REVEALED
150 Chapter 21. KUMMER AND OTHERS - VOICES, VIEWS, AND VISIONS

Part Three. Games, Documents, and Sources

159 Appendix A. EIGHTY-THREE NON-TURK GAMES PLAYED BY ITS DIRECTORS
082 Appendix B. THE BOOK OF ENDGAMES (CA. 1818)
191 Appendix C. DUTENS´ LETTER TO GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE (1771)
193 Appendix D. WlNDISCH'S "INANIMATE REASON..." (1784)
200 Appendix E. FROM DECREMPS' "LA MAGIE BLANCHE DÉVOILLÉE" (1784/1785)
202 Appendix F. THICKNESSE´S "THE SPEAKING FIGURE..." (1784)
206 Appendix G. RACKNITZ'S "UEBER DEN SCHACHSPIELER..." (1789)
216 Appendix H. WlLLIS' "AN ATTEMPT TO ANALYSE..." (1821)
221 Appendix I. THE PlTTORESQUE ARTICLE (1834)
223 Appendix J. DE TOURNAY'S "LA VlE ET LES AVENTURES..." (1836)
226 Appendix K. POE'S "MAELZEL'S CHESS-PLAYER" (1836)
236 Appendix L. MlTCHELL'S "THE LAST OF A VETERAN CHESS PLAYER" (1857)
241 Appendix M. THE WALKER AUTOMATON OF 1845
243 Appendix N. THE RECONSTRUCTED TURK

245 Chapter Notes
251 Bibliography
253 Index of Games and Players
255 General Index
Vergleichende Rezension zu "Der Türke" von Tom Standage, Campus Verlag, Frankfurt/New York 2002

Kurz erwähnt sei noch das 2000 bei McFarland erschienene Buch von Gerald M. Levitt zum gleichen Thema: The Turk, Chess Automaton (258 Seiten; über 100 Illustrationen, Diagr.; Großformat 21x28 cm,fester Einband; eng/., algebr. Notation. Preis: 50 US-Dollar, ISBN 0-7864-0778-6).
Es war bereits in Kaissiber 16, S. 13-17, von Chrilly Donninger ausführlich besprochen worden. Ein kurzer Vergleich mag dennoch von Nutzen sein. Dieses Buch hat Vorteile in der opulenten Ausstattung und Bebilderung, ist schachorientierter und strebt nach größter Vollständigkeit in den historischen Quellen und im Partienmaterial. Der durch ständige Wiederholungen geprägte Stil des Autors lässt keine rechte Lesefreude aufkommen. Einige sachliche Fehler sind ebenfalls enthalten. Schade, dass beide Autoren ihre eigenen Wege gegangen sind, man hätte die Vorzüge beider Bücher gerne in einem Werk vereint gesehen.
(K.J. Binnewirtz), Kaissiber (Ausgabe 19) 2003
Mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Zeitschrift Kaissiber
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