“An Attempt to Analyse the Automaton Chess Player of Mr. De Kempelen” by Robert Willis is part technical manual, part pop-culture, and, seemingly, part science fiction. The automaton chess player wowed audiences from the moment it first debuted. While many were happy to simply sit back and enjoy watching the seeming magic of one of the first “robots”, others aimed to delve deeper. Robert Willis was one such man. In fact, men like Willis are to thank for discovering that, as convincing as it was, the Automaton Chess Player wasn't all that it seemed to be…
