![]() Though the narrative could use a light pruning, Löhr's eye for period detail and cast of eccentrics create an immersive and mirthful experience. Tibor agrees to a repeat performance (at a higher fee), but when a baroness is found dead after the match and traces of her rouge are found on the Turk, rumors of the "Curse of the Turk" spread and may be Kempelen's undoing. Tension mounts as the Turk gains notoriety and is requested to perform at a ball celebrating the union of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. The game goes off without a glitch, but Court Mechanician Frederich Knaus is suspicious of the Turk and convinces his lover, Galatea, to spy on Kempelen. : The Chess Machine: A Novel (9781594201264) by Lohr, Robert and a great selection of similar New, Used and Collectible Books available now at great prices. Tibor, a devout Catholic, is hesitant to partake in the scam and insists he will quit after the match. The Turk, though, isn't exactly as it seems hidden inside is Italian chess prodigy (and dwarf) Tibor Scardenelli, hired by Kempelen to secretly control the contraption during its debut match in front of the empress. The Chess Machine by Robert Löhr This account of the automaton is set during von Kempelen’s lifetime, and tells the story of its debut at Schöbrunn Palace, along with the aftermath. ![]() ![]() Set in 1770, Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen of Hungary, anxious to win the favor of Empress Maria Theresia, builds an engineering marvel: the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing automaton. German writer Löhr resurrects a chess-playing automaton in his generously imagined debut novel. ![]()
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