In Vienna 1770 Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen unveils a strange & amazing invention The Mechanical Turk a sensational & unbeatable chess-playing automaton But what the Habsburg court hails as the greatest innovation of the century is really nothing more than a brilliant illusion The chess machine is secretly operated from inside by the Italian dwarf Tibor a God-fearing social outcast whose chess-playing abilities & diminutive size make him the perfect accomplice in this grand hoax Von Kempelen & his helpers tour his remarkable invention all around Europe to amaze & entertain the public but despite many valiant attempts & close calls no one is able to beat the extraordinary chess machine The crowds all across Europe adore the Turk & the success of Baron von Kempelen seems assured But when a beautiful & seductive Countess dies under mysterious circumstances in the presence of the automaton the Mechanical Turk falls under a cloud of suspicion & the machine & its inventor become the target of espionage persecution & aristocratic intrigue What is the dark secret behind this automaton & what strange powers does it hold? From the leaden dungeons of Venice to the imperial court in Vienna from the palaces of the Pressburg nobility to the alleyways of the Jewish quarter The Secrets of the Chess Machine is the breathtaking historical adventure based on a true story of a legendary invention