The hugely-popular ‘Sneaky Pete’ – emanating from Amazon Studios, culminated in a ‘Turk’ con, as Marius and his team successfully conned Vince. Such is the success of Sneaky Pete, that a second season has been commissioned. But while the Internet is full of interesting information regarding confidence tricks, there is little literature on the actual origins of the ‘Turk’. It should be noted the ‘Turk’ is a style of a con, one which typically involves no moving parts. The origins of the con appears to come from the game of Chess…
The story begins in 1770s Austria, where Hungarian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen unveiled the ‘Turk’ – a mechanical robot that had the unprecedented ability to defeat human opponents at chess. The picture above shows a depiction of the ‘Turk’, featuring its human-like appearance, along with the large box that it appeared in. Kempelen would open said box at the start of each game in the interest of transparency.
As mentioned, the ‘Turk’ had the ability to defeat humans at chess. In its debut performance in 1770, the ‘Turk’ defeated several players. Well-known scalps included US Ambassador to France Benjamin Franklin and future Tsar Paul I of Russia. Arguably the most celebrated victory was against Napoleon of France. This particular victory was all the more impressive due to the fact Napoleon attempted illegal moves. For the next few decades, the ‘Turk’ would continue to excel. The ‘Turk’ would eventually make its way to the US.
Kempelen passed away in 1804, but the ‘Turk’ gained new owners. Fifty years later in 1854, whilst being held in a museum in the US, the ‘Turk’ was destroyed due to fire damage. For decades questions had been raised regarding how such an advanced machine had been created – far ahead of its time. It was a question which was heavily speculated.
However the answer to how this was possible was surprisingly simple. The entire time, there had actually been someone in the box after all. The mystique and aura around the ‘Turk’ had all just amounted to a hoax. Yet it was an impressive ruse. As mentioned, the box would be opened at the start of each game, yet suspicions were bypassed due to a rolling seat that concealed the player. Essentially, it was an illusion. Magnets were used to indicate where the chess pieces were on the board. World-class players were recruited to operate the ‘Turk’. Eventually the whistle was blown by one of the players who had been recruited to partake in the con.
And thus the ‘Turk’ was exposed, ending its illustrious history. von Kempelen deserves credit for creating such a trick. It was something which at the time attracted significant interest, and all of this time later, the remnants of this confidence trick continue to influence society. As the introduction states, Marius and co’s con had several moving parts, meaning they didn’t actually pull off the ‘Turk’, though it was in the correct style. This entire story is a reminder that not all is as it seems.
(‘087’)
/MF/
Millicent Faith 