Jacques François Mouret facts for kids

An old advertisement for The Turk chess machine from 1819. Jacques Mouret was operating it then.

Jacques François Mouret (born 1780, died 1837) was a French chess master from the early 1800s. He taught chess to the future King of France, Louis Philippe I. Mouret was also one of the best operators of The Turk. This was a very famous machine that seemed to play chess by itself.

Mouret's Life and Chess Journey

Mouret was related to François-André Danican Philidor, a famous chess player. He learned chess at the Café de la Régence, a well-known chess spot in Paris. His teachers were students of Philidor.

Mouret later became a student of Alexandre Deschapelles. He then taught chess to Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, who became a very strong player. Mouret also gave chess lessons to the children of the French King Louis Philippe I.

In 1819, Mouret traveled with The Turk in England. He was the secret operator inside the machine. It is thought that he later told the public how The Turk worked.

A chess book called The Treaty Elementary Game of Chess came out in 1836. Some people thought Mouret wrote it. But it seems he only helped correct it.

Mouret faced hard times at the end of his life. He had very little money. In 1837, a chess magazine asked for help for him. Sadly, in the next issue, they announced he had passed away. The Chess Club of Paris paid for his funeral.

Mouret and The Turk Chess Machine

Mouret is most famous for being a hidden operator of The Turk. This was a chess-playing machine that looked like an automaton. It was built in the late 1700s and traveled around Europe.

Wolfgang von Kempelen created The Turk in 1769. After Kempelen died, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel bought it. Maelzel showed it off in Europe and later in the USA. Mouret was one of several strong chess players who secretly played inside The Turk. Other famous operators included Johann Baptist Allgaier, who played against Napoleon I.

Fifty games played by The Turk in London in 1819 were collected in a book. Mouret was the operator during these games. The book said that by February 1820, The Turk had played about 300 games. It usually gave its opponents a head start (a pawn and a move). The Turk had only lost six of these games.

In 1834, Mouret likely shared the secret of The Turk with a magazine. The article explained how a person could fit inside the machine. It was published without a name, but many believed Mouret was the source. He was sick and needed money at that time.

Did Mouret Invent the French Defense?

Mouret did not invent the chess move 1...e6, which is now called the French Defense. This move appeared in chess writings much earlier. For example, it was in books by Gioacchino Greco in the 1600s.

However, Mouret strongly supported and often played this defense. It was not very popular back then. He played a key role in it becoming known as the French Defense. Mouret taught this defense to a regular player at the Café de la Régence, Mr. Chamouillet. In return, Chamouillet, who was a glazier (someone who works with glass), gave Mouret advice about buying a mirror.

In 1834, Mr. Chamouillet was on the Paris team for a famous chess game played by mail against London. He convinced the Paris team to use the defense Mouret had taught him. The Paris team won the game. After this victory, the opening quickly became known as the French Defense. It became as popular as other common first moves like 1.e4 and 1...e5.

Mouret's Chess Style and Games

A chess magazine called Le Palamède described Mouret's playing style. They said his game was "very correct and very strong, especially in defense."

Most of Mouret's games that we still have are from when he operated The Turk. These games were collected by Hunnemann. According to Walker, Mouret showed a "strong and effective style." Walker also said these games showed Mouret's "great skill" and "beautiful genius." In these games, Mouret usually gave his opponents a pawn and a move advantage. His opponents included top players of the time like Messrs. Brand and Cochrane.

However, if you look closely at these games, you'll see that Mouret often won because his opponents made simple tactical mistakes or even big blunders. This happened even with the players Walker called "first chess-players of the time."

Here is an example game:

Brandreth - Chess Automaton (Mouret) London 1819 (Black starts without a pawn on 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

Chess computer analysis shows that White could have played better at move 12. For example, 12. Nxd5 exd5 13.e6 would have been stronger. Mouret seemed to miss this type of move. This "blind spot" for a sacrifice on d5 followed by e5-e6 appeared in several games played by The Turk. One example is Mouret's only loss against Cochrane.

Diagram 1

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Cochrane-Mouret: Position after 15...Bd7

In Diagram 1, we see a position from another game between Cochrane and Mouret in London, 1819. White played 16. a3, and the game ended in a draw. But White could have gotten a better position with 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. e6.

What's really interesting about these games is how Mouret handled pawn structures. Especially those that look like today's Advance Variation of the French Defence. The way The Turk played these positions was very similar to how modern chess players approach them.

Here's another example:

Cochrane - Chess Automaton (Mouret) London 1819 (Black starts without a pawn on f7)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 c6 3. f4 d5 4. e5 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bb5 (Today, this move is not considered the best, but The Turk's opponents often played it) 6...Qb6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Nf3 Ba6 9. Kf2 (In another game, after the better 9. Ng5, Mouret calmly played 9... Bc8) 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 (A chess engine thinks Black's position is very good here) 19. Ng5 (White's attack on the kingside was stopped by) 19... Bxg5 20. hxg5 g6 21. Qh2 h6 22. gxh6 (Mouret could have gained a big advantage with 22...d4! but played the slightly weaker) 22... Kh7 (He still won a few moves later after his opponent made a big blunder.)

Mouret's most famous game, however, was a loss. He played it with Boncourt against De Labourdonnais. It was an Evans Gambit, a type of opening that was very interesting for chess theory at the time. This game was written about in famous chess publications like Le Palamède and the Chess Player's Chronicle. It was also mentioned in a well-known German chess book.