Jacques François Mouret (1780–1837) was a French chess master of the early 19th century who became chess tutor of the future Louis Philippe I and was one of the most successful operators of The Turk, a famous chess-playing automaton.
Brief biography
Mouret was a great-nephew of Philidor and learned the game of chess at the Café de la Régence by Bernard and Carlier, students of Philidor. He was a pupil of Alexandre Deschapelles and later he became a teacher of La Bourdonnais. He also gave chess lessons to the children of the French King Louis Philippe I. In 1819, he was the operator of The Turk during its tour in England and probably the person, who sold the secret of The Turk to the press.
Although talented, Mouret's personality was affected by alcoholism. Alphonse Delannoy, editor in 1842 of the chess periodical Le Palamède, wrote that "He was a clever fellow, sharp, gay, lively,amusing, and had studied seriously the theory of chess, by which he made his living. His talent redeemed a little the rudeness of his manner and a certain licentiousness which he indulged in. He used to be in a continual state of semi-intoxication", and George Walker wrote that "His brain was consumed in the Brandy".
In 1836 a book The Treaty Elementary Game of Chess, appeared which is often attributed to Mouret on the basis of the preface, but it seems that he was only the "corrector" as evidenced by an advertisement found in a newspaper after his death.
He ended his life in a state of severe physical and mental deterioration, without a penny to his name. Early in 1837 Le Palamède 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 Turk, 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 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, who defeated Napoleon in 1809, Schlumberger, Boncourt and Lewis). 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 had played about 300 games giving the advantage of pawn and move to his opponents and he only has ever 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 Turk. 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) indicate Mouret as the source. The French master was sick and short of money at the time, and died penniless three 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 had appeared in early manuscripts of the game like those of Gioacchino Greco (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 played this defense, very little used at the time, and he played a fundamental role in the events that led to its being named the French Defense. Mouret, in fact, taught the defense to a frequent player of Café de la Régence, Mr. Chamouillet, in exchange for a piece of advice about the purchase of a mirror (as Chamouillet was a glazier). In 1834 Chamouillet was in the committee of Paris at the famous game by correspondence between London and Paris, and he convinced the Paris team to adopt the defense advocated by Mouret (the game can be seen at chessgames.com). Following the victory of the French team, the opening quickly became known as the French Defense, in answer to 1.e4 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.