Jacques François Mouret
Encyclopedia
The Turk
The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or Automaton Chess Player , was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in 1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton, though it was exposed in the early 1820s as an...
.
Brief Biography
Mouret was a great-nephew of PhilidorFrançois-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
and learned the game of chess at the Café de la Régence
Café de la Régence
The Café de la Régence in Paris was an important European centre of chess in the 18th and 19th centuries. All important chess masters of the time played there.The Café' masters include, but are not limited to:* Paul Morphy...
by Bernard and Carlier, students of Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
. He was a pupil of Alexandre Deschapelles
Alexandre Deschapelles
Alexandre Deschapelles was a French chess player who, between the death of Philidor and the arrival of Louis de la Bourdonnais, was probably the strongest player in the world...
and later he became a teacher of De Labourdonnais
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.- Early life :...
. He also gave chess lessons to the children of King Louis-Philippe.
In 1819, he was the operator of the The Turk
The Turk
The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or Automaton Chess Player , was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in 1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton, though it was exposed in the early 1820s as an...
during its tour in England and probably the person, who sold the secret of The Turk to the press.
Unfortunately, the talent of Mouret was limited by being an alcoholic. Alphonse Delannoy, cited by Hooper and Whyld, speaks of "state of semi-intoxication continued," and George Walker
George Walker (chess player)
George Walker was an English chess player and author of The Celebrated Analysis of A D Philidor , The Art of Chess-Play: A New Treatise on the Game of Chess , A Selection of Games at Chess played by Philidor , Chess Made Easy , and Chess Studies .In 1839 visited...
wrote "His brain was consumed in the Brandy.
In 1836 appeared The Treaty Elementary Game of Chess, which is often attributed to him on the basis of the preface, but It seems that he is only the "corrector" as evidenced by the advertisement found in a newspaper after his death.
He ended his life in a state of severe physical and mental deterioration, without a penny. Early in 1837 Le Palamède
Le Palamède
Le Palamède was the world's first periodical devoted to the game of chess. It was founded in France in 1836 by Louis-Charles Mahé de la Bourdonnais, who is often considered to have been an unofficial world chess champion. It ceased publication in 1839, but was revived in December 1841 by Pierre...
published an invitation to help the old chess master, but with the following issue the journal published his obituary. The members of the Chess Club of Paris took charge of his funeral expenses.
Mouret and The Turk
Mouret is best known as a hidden operator of Automaton Chess Player known as The TurkThe Turk
The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or Automaton Chess Player , was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in 1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton, though it was exposed in the early 1820s as an...
, a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century and traveled around Europe in the early 19th century. The Automaton, manufactured by Kempelen
Wolfgang von Kempelen
Johann Wolfgang Ritter von Kempelen de Pázmánd was a Hungarian author and inventor with Irish ancestors.-Life:...
was shown for the first time to the Austrian court in 1769. After the death of Kempelen in 1805 it came in possession of the German engineer Johann Maelzel who exploited first in Europe and then from 1826 in the USA. Mouret was one of many strong players who played hidden in the Turk (others being Johann Baptist Allgaier
Johann Baptist Allgaier
Johann Baptist Allgaier was a German-Austrian chess master and theoretician. He was also the author of the first chess handbook in German – Neue theoretisch-praktische Anweisung zum Schachspiel .-About his biography:Relatively few details of his life are known...
, who defeated Napoleon
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1809, Schlumberger
William Schlumberger
William Schlumberger was a European chess master. He is known to have taughtPierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant to play chess and as the operator of The Turk, a chess-playing machine which purported to be an automaton. It was Bavarian musician and showman Johann Nepomuk Mälzel who hired him to...
, Boncourt
Boncourt (chess player)
Boncourt was one of the leading chess player in France in the years between 1820 and 1840.-Short biography:Although he was one of the leading players of his time, not much is known about his life. His first name remains unknown, and the dates of his birth and death can only be estimated...
and Lewis
William Lewis (chess player)
William Lewis was an English chess player and author, nowadays best known for the Lewis Countergambit and for being the first player ever to be described as a Grandmaster of the game..-Life and works:...
). Fifty games of the Turk during his exhibition in London in 1819, while the machine was operated by Mouret, are collected in a book published in 1820. The preface states that to February 1820 (date of publication of the book), The Turk
The Turk
The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or Automaton Chess Player , was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in 1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton, though it was exposed in the early 1820s as an...
had played about 300 games giving the advantage of pawn and move to his opponents and he only has lost six.
Mouret's weakness for drinking often left him penniless and, to survive, he probably revealed in 1834 to Le Magasin picturesque the secret of the The Turk
The Turk
The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or Automaton Chess Player , was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in 1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton, though it was exposed in the early 1820s as an...
. The article, titled An attempt to analyze the automaton chess-player of M. Kempelen, explained how an ordinary sized man could play a chess game inside the Turk. It was published anonymously, but many references (e.g. Walker
George Walker (chess player)
George Walker was an English chess player and author of The Celebrated Analysis of A D Philidor , The Art of Chess-Play: A New Treatise on the Game of Chess , A Selection of Games at Chess played by Philidor , Chess Made Easy , and Chess Studies .In 1839 visited...
) indicate Mouret as the source. The French master, at the time, was sick and short of money. He died 3 years later.
"Inventor" of the French Defense?
Mouret cannot be considered the inventor of the response 1...e6 to 1.e4, today known as French Defense, which appears in early manuscripts of the game like those of Gioacchino GrecoGioacchino Greco
Gioachino Greco was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the first chess games known, 77 in total...
(published for the first time in London by Herry Herringman in 1656 under the title: The Royall Game of Chesse-Play). Mouret, however, advocated and frequently used this defense, very little used at the time, and he plays a fundamental role in the events that led to the naming of this opening as French Defense. Mouret, in fact, taught this defense to a frequent player of Café de la Régence
Café de la Régence
The Café de la Régence in Paris was an important European centre of chess in the 18th and 19th centuries. All important chess masters of the time played there.The Café' masters include, but are not limited to:* Paul Morphy...
, Mr. Chamouillet in exchange of a piece of advice for the purchase of a mirror (Chamouillet was glazier). In 1834 Chamouillet was in the committee of Paris at the famous game by correspondence
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
between London and Paris, and he convinced the Paris team to adopt the defense of Mouret (the game can be seen at chessgames.com). Following the victory of the French team, the opening was known French Defense and became an answer to 1.e4
King's Pawn Game
The King's Pawn Game is any chess opening starting with the move:White opens with the most popular of the twenty possible opening moves. Though effective in winning for White , it is not as successful as the four next most common openings for White: 1.d4 , 1.Nf3 , 1.c4 , and 1.g3...
as popular as 1 ... e5.
Anecdotes
Because of his chronic shortage of money and dependence on alcohol, a variety of stories came out around the character of Mouret. We present here a few that give us a portrait of both Mouret and the chess-life of the time.The first story concern the period when Mouret was the hidden operators of The Turk
The Turk
The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or Automaton Chess Player , was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in 1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton, though it was exposed in the early 1820s as an...
. Initially, Maelzel (the owner of the Turk) and Mouret went on for some time in perfect harmony. After a certain time, however, Maelzel remained debtor to his assistant for a considerable sum and after an year he still had not paid this debt to Mouret. One day, when the Automaton was in Amsterdam, invited by the King of Holland, Maelzel found Mouret in bed seized with a convulsive trembling. Maelzel was worried since the day after they had to meet the King and asked "Is there no means of subduing this fever?". "Yes, one only". "What is it?". "To pay me the 1500 francs you owe me". Maelzel paid his debts and the cure was wonderful; the Automaton played better than ever.
The second anecdote (too long to be reported here), concerns a "scam" organized by Mouret and De Labourdonnais
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.- Early life :...
against a wealthy but miser habitué of the Café de la Régence
Café de la Régence
The Café de la Régence in Paris was an important European centre of chess in the 18th and 19th centuries. All important chess masters of the time played there.The Café' masters include, but are not limited to:* Paul Morphy...
. The complete text of this story can be found on Google Bookshttp://books.google.com/books?id=2kVAAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA317&dq=Mouret+Delannoy&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Mouret%20Delannoy&f=false.
Style of play and games
On Mouret style, Le Palamède says:
Son jeu était très correct et d'une très grande force, principalement sous le rapport de la défense.
"His game was very correct and of tremendous strength, especially in respect to the defense."
The large majority of Mouret's games survived are those played by the Turk and collected by Hunnemann.
In these games, according to Walker
George Walker (chess player)
George Walker was an English chess player and author of The Celebrated Analysis of A D Philidor , The Art of Chess-Play: A New Treatise on the Game of Chess , A Selection of Games at Chess played by Philidor , Chess Made Easy , and Chess Studies .In 1839 visited...
:
"Mouret shows a strong and effective style... These games contain a fair specimen of Mouret's great skill, and embody some beautiful emanations of genius. Throughout the whole, he gives the pawn and move, numbering among his opponents Messrs. Brand, Cochrane, Keen, and Mercier, some of the first chess-players of the time"
The analysis of those games, however, reveals that the large majority of them were won by Mouret on the basis of simple tactical mistakes or even blunders
Blunder (chess)
In chess, a blunder is a very bad move. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether from time trouble, overconfidence or carelessness. While a blunder may seem like a stroke of luck for the opposing player, some chess players give their opponent plenty of opportunities to blunder.What...
by his opponents (also those called by Walker
George Walker (chess player)
George Walker was an English chess player and author of The Celebrated Analysis of A D Philidor , The Art of Chess-Play: A New Treatise on the Game of Chess , A Selection of Games at Chess played by Philidor , Chess Made Easy , and Chess Studies .In 1839 visited...
"some of the first chess-players of the time").
The following game is a typical example.
Brandreth - Chess Automaton (Mouret)
London 1819 (remove black's pawn in f7)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 g6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e5 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Qb6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. cxd4 c5 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Qd3 a6 13. Rb1 Bg7 14. f4 Nh6 15. Kh1 O-O 16. h3 Qd8 17. Nb3 Nf5 18. Ne2? Bb5 19. Qd1 Bxe2 0-1
Analysis assisted by the chess engine Firebird 1.2http://www.chesslogik.com/Fire.htm shows that White could have played much better at his 12th move with 12. Nxd5 exd5 13.e6 and if 13... Bc6 14. Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Qd4. Interestingly enough, Mouret seems to have a “blind spot” for this tactical pattern (sacrifice in d5 followed by e5-e6), which could had occurred in various games played by the Turk. One example is only Mouret's loss against Cochrane (the overall score was +3 =1 -1 in favour of Mouret) and available on chessgames.com.
In the majority of cases, however, Mouret’s opponent did not take advantage of this possibility. In Diagramm 1, for instance, the position of another game Cochrane – Mouret, London 1819, after Black’s 15th move is reported.
White played 16. a3 and the game ended in a draw, but he could had gained a better position after 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. e6 (FireBird 1.2).
The most remarkable aspect of these games, however, is Mouret’s treatment of the pawn structure similar to that derived from today’s Advance Variation of the French Defence
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
, which the Automaton approached in a fashion very close to the modern standards.
A good example can be found in the following example.
Cochrane - Chess Automaton (Mouret)
London 1819 (remove black's pawn in f7)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 c6 3. f4 d5 4. e5 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Today, this plan is known to be inaccurate, but it was played frequently by the Automaton opponents 6...Qb6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Nf3 Ba6 9. Kf2 in another game, after the better (according to FireBird 1.2) 9. Ng5, Mouret answered calmly with 9... Bc8 (Tremaine - Mouret, London 1819) 9... cxd4 10. Nxd4 c5 11. Nf3 Nh6 12. h3 Be7 13. g4 O-O 14. Qb3 Qc6 15. Kg3 Rae8 16. Qd1 Nf7 17. h4 Bd8 18. Qc2 Bb7 and FireBird 1.2 evaluates that Black's position widely compensate the pawn. After 19. Ng5 White initiative on the kingside was rebutted with 19... Bxg5 20. hxg5 g6 21. Qh2 h6 22. gxh6 and now Mouret could have obtained a good advantage with 22...d4! (FireBird 1.2), he played instead the somewhat inferior 22... Kh7 and won in a few moves after a blunder
Blunder (chess)
In chess, a blunder is a very bad move. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether from time trouble, overconfidence or carelessness. While a blunder may seem like a stroke of luck for the opposing player, some chess players give their opponent plenty of opportunities to blunder.What...
of his opponent.
The most known game of Mouret, however, is a loss played (together with Boncourt
Boncourt (chess player)
Boncourt was one of the leading chess player in France in the years between 1820 and 1840.-Short biography:Although he was one of the leading players of his time, not much is known about his life. His first name remains unknown, and the dates of his birth and death can only be estimated...
) against De Labourdonnais
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.- Early life :...
. It is a Evans gambit
Evans Gambit
The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves:The gambit is named after the Welsh sea Captain William Davies Evans, the first player known to have employed it. The first game with the opening is considered to be Evans - McDonnell, London 1827, although in that game a slightly...
of a certain theoretical interest for the time, which was reported both in Le Palamède
Le Palamède
Le Palamède was the world's first periodical devoted to the game of chess. It was founded in France in 1836 by Louis-Charles Mahé de la Bourdonnais, who is often considered to have been an unofficial world chess champion. It ceased publication in 1839, but was revived in December 1841 by Pierre...
and the Chess Player's Chronicle
Chess Player's Chronicle
The Chess Player's Chronicle, founded by Howard Staunton and extant from 1841–56 and 1859–62, was the world's first successful English-language magazine devoted exclusively to chess. Various unrelated but identically or similarly named publications were published until 1902.The earliest chess...
and was quoted by the 7th edition of the Handbuch des Schachspiels
Handbuch des Schachspiels
Handbuch des Schachspiels is a chess book, first published in 1843 by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. It was one of the most important opening references for many decades...
.
External links
- HERITAGE des ECHECS FRANCAIS (in French)
- Additional games of Mouret (or The Turk operated by Mouret) at chessgames.com http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1336271,http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1381007,http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1316496,http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1508727