The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1879-02-06
An AutOmat0n Chess Player that Is
Astonishing London,

The London Times says that an
ingenious chess playing figure of novel
construction is now being exhibited In
London at the Royal Aquarium under
the title of Mephisto,' and will
shortly leave that city for Paris. The
history of chess automata is remark
able one. Won Kempelen's chess
player made the tour of the courts OF
Europe and its secret was twice sold to
crowned heads. The clever conceal
ment of human being in the interior
was the explanation of all its wonderful
achievements, and the merit of its
invention lay in the devices by which
the manipulation hid the person within
while appearing to court inspection.
The Crystal Palace automaton was
an adaptation of the same idea.
{" Mephisto" depends upon another
principle. He isactuated from without
by human intelligence, and the prob
lem is to ascertain how the moves upon
the board become known to his director,
and how the countermoves are COM
municated to the figure. The new chess
player, who had been exhibited at the
inventors house for some time. before
| his introduction to. the public, is a
|
chair being placed at an ordinary chess
table. The piece of furniture On which
he sits contains deep seat, but this, as
well as the body Of the figure, may be
investigated while play is going on, and
it is clear that their is no person con
cealed in either. "Mephisto" raises
his arm, grasps the piece with his hand
and moves it 10 its proper square. HI
removes from the board the pieces he
captures. and signifies Gcheck" by
touching the opponents king. Some
times he moves @Ssvery quickly
sometimes takes time to deliberate
Occasionally he lifts his face to Iii
opponent and looks up with a smile
These are little tricks to increase tn,
effect Of his skill as scientific ches
player-whieh is, indeed, considerable
Ordinarily the board is uncovered, bu
-Eoecasie aflysasnewspaper is placed ovel
lit, SO that the moves could not be re
y tfectedbys y mirror in the ceiling, anc
"Mephisto" plays move in spit,
of the obstruction. The mystery 0
Mephisto's" action is to be explained
by the use of lever mechanism. Th
movements of the arm are very fre
and varied; more so, for instance, thai
those of Mr.. Maskelyne's automatol
whist player. But, although Mr.. Bah
bage held it to be possible SO to calculat
i beforehand the changes which could b
y rung upon the squares of the ches
board by the piece placed upon it an
to construct mechanism to provide 70
all, the merit is not claimed fo
"Mephisto of being entirely auto
matte. The inventor says, by way Q
.. apology for in part supplying tn
DEFICIENCIES of mechanism by huma
Intelligence, that life is too short to cor
struct a chess player who should b
,, entirely automatic. He is also tn
! inventor of Formulating lock, the ke
of which is provided with nine tee
: pins, each of which admits of thre
positions, and it has been calculated tha
even for the minor number of permuts
. tions resulting from these figures a ma
/, would be engaged one hundred an
thirty lifetimes, ten hours day, thre
I hundred days a year, fifty years of hi
Z life, to work them through. The thirty
two pieces on the sixty-four squares {
the chessboard with the varying power
$ of some, would give a still larger nun
Der of combinations, and as :" Mephisto
was perfected in six or seven years,
q is not surprising to learn that he is nc
!. entirely automatic, but is medium fo
the exercise Of human intelligence maj
ifested only in a novel and at present a
! occult way.