Turk was capable of playing chess on its own and beating human opponents. It incorporated a life-sized model of a human, dressed in traditional oriental clothes (hence its name). Its complicated construction consisted of several compartments with various operational mechanisms. Next year, in 1770, at the exact same place, Kempelen exhibited the Turk – the first chess-playing automaton in history. Inspired by Pelletier’s performance, Kempelen immediately started building the invention which would later become one of the most notorious hoaxes in the entire history. Among the onlookers was Hungarian inventor and author Wolfgang von Kempelen. In 1769, French illusionist Francois Pelletier was performing an act in front of Maria Theresa of Austria, at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. In this article, we will answer these questions and take a closer look at the history of computer chess engines. Who devised the first computer chess engine? How long did it take for computers to become stronger than humans? What is the difference between classical computer chess engines and Google’s Alpha Zero? It is not surprising players have started using them as a tool and learning from them.Įven though we all embrace computer chess engines as something normal and use them on a daily basis, most of us aren’t familiar with the challenges and problems previous generations had to face in order to create one. Even a chess computer on your mobile phone is stronger than a grandmaster nowadays. Nowadays, even the biggest beginners are familiar with the terms „Stockfish“ and „Rybka“ (especially when they are shouting their names in online chats while kibitzing the games of top chess players). Nothing else, however, has revolutionized chess so much as the appearance of computer chess engines. New opening systems such as the Hedgehog were introduced and new ideas were discovered in ancient opening systems, demonstrating the inexhaustible nature of chess. In the 1970s, largely under the influence of eleventh World Champion Robert James Fischer, the opening theory went through massive changes. In the middle of the 20th century, the sixth World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik started devoting an enormous amount of time to physical and chess preparation before the tournaments and matches, announcing the era of strict chess professionalism. In the late 19th century, the first World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz provoked his opponents to attack him vigorously and laid the foundations of positional chess. Throughout history, chess was revolutionized several times.
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