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William Schlumberger
William Schlumberger (1800 – April 1838) was a European chess master. He is known to have taught Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant to play chess and as the operator of The Turk, a chess-playing machine which was purported to be an automaton. It was Bavarian musician and showman Johann Nepomuk Mälzel who hired him to operate The Turk. Schlumberger acted as the Turk's director in Europe and in the United States until his death from yellow fever in 1838. Biography The main source of information on Schlumberger's life is Willard Fiske's book of the first American chess congress and, in particular, the section dedicated to “The history of the Automaton Chess-Player in America”. The brief biography given below is, unless otherwise indicated, taken from that publication. Schlumberger was born in Mulhouse, Alsace, a region often fought over by France and Germany. He belonged to a wealthy family, and attained a very high education. He was considered very strong in Mathemat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games, such as xiangqi (Chinese chess) and shogi (Japanese chess). The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of a similar game, chaturanga, in seventh-century India. The rules of chess as we know them today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide. Chess is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no use of dice or cards. It is played on a chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start, each player controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. Poe is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe was born in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when his mother died the following year, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deaths From Yellow Fever
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain death is sometimes used as a legal definition of death. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. Death is an inevitable process that eventually occurs in almost all organisms. Death is generally applied to whole organisms; the similar process seen in individual components of an organism, such as cells or tissues, is necrosis. Something that is not considered an organism, such as a virus, can be physically destroyed but is not said to die. As of the early 21st century, over 150,000 humans die each day, with ageing being by far the most common cause of death. Many cultures and religions have the idea of an afterlife, and also may hold the idea of judgement of good and bad deeds in one's life ( h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1838 Deaths
Events January–March * January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London. * January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration of Morse's new invention, the telegraph. * January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhamma ... - A 1838 Vrancea earthquake, 7.5 earthquake strikes the Romanian district of Vrancea County, Vrancea causing damage in Moldavia and Wallachia, killing 73 people. * January 21 – The first known report about the Lowest temperature recorded on Earth, lowest temperature on Earth is made, indicating in Yakutsk. * February 6 – Boer explorer Piet Retief and 60 of his men are massacred by King Dingane kaSenzangakhona of the Zulu people, afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1800 Births
Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * 18 (film), ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * Eighteen (film), ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2005 Canadian dramatic feature film * 18 (British Board of Film Classification), a film rating in the United Kingdom, also used in Ireland by the Irish Film Classification Office * 18 (Dragon Ball), 18 (''Dragon Ball''), a character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise * "Eighteen", a 2006 episode of the animated television series ''12 oz. Mouse'' Music Albums * 18 (Moby album), ''18'' (Moby album), 2002 * 18 (Nana Kitade album), ''18'' (Nana Kitade album), 2005 * ''18...'', 2009 debut album by G.E.M. Songs * 18 (5 Seconds of Summer song), "18" (5 Seconds of Summer song), from their 2014 eponymous debut album * 18 (One Direction song), "18" (One Direction song), from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Chess Players
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Fortnite French places Arts and media * The French (band), a British rock band * "French" (episode), a live-action episode of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' * ''Française'' (film), 2008 * French Stewart (born 1964), American actor Other uses * French (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * French (tunic), a particular type of military jacket or tunic used in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union * French's, an American brand of mustard condiment * French catheter scale, a unit of measurement of diameter * French Defence, a chess opening * French kiss, a type of kiss involving the tongue See also * France (other) * Franch, a surname * French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jefferson, North Carolina
Jefferson is a town in and the county seat of Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,611 at the 2010 census. History The North Carolina General Assembly created a special commission in 1799 to found a county seat for Ashe County. The commission purchased of land to form the town of Jeffersonton, later named Jefferson. It is one of the first towns in the nation to bear the name of Thomas Jefferson, who was the vice president of the United States in 1799. The Ashe County Courthouse and Poe Fish Weir are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Geography Jefferson is located at in the Appalachian Mountains. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.20%, is water. The New River, which is part of the Ohio River watershed and one of the oldest and most scenic rivers in the eastern United States, flows through the town. Climate Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firebird (chess Engine)
Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various species with bright red or orange plumage:'' * Baltimore oriole * Scarlet tanager * Sharp-tailed grouse * Vermilion flycatcher Automobiles * Pontiac Firebird, American pony car * General Motors Firebird, series of concept cars Film and television * ''The Firebird'' (1934 film), a murder mystery directed by William Dieterle * ''The Firebird'' (1952 film), a musical drama film directed by Hasse Ekman * ''Fire Birds'', a 1990 action film directed by David Green * "Firebird" ''(Once Upon a Time)'', an episode of the fifth season of ''Once Upon a Time'' * ''Firebird'' (2021 film), a love story directed by Peeter Rebane In print * ''The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa'', a Russian fairy tale by Alexander Afanasyev * ''Firebird'' (Lackey nov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess Engine
In computer chess, a chess engine is a computer program that analyzes chess or chess variant positions, and generates a move or list of moves that it regards as strongest. A chess engine is usually a back end with a command-line interface with no graphics or windowing. Engines are usually used with a front end, a windowed graphical user interface such as Chessbase or WinBoard that the user can interact with via a keyboard, mouse or touchscreen. This allows the user to play against multiple engines without learning a new user interface for each, and allows different engines to play against each other. Many chess engines are now available for mobile phones and tablets, making them even more accessible. History The meaning of the term "chess engine" has evolved over time. In 1986, Linda and Tony Scherzer entered their program Bebe into the 4th World Computer Chess Championship, running it on "Chess Engine," their brand name for the chess computer hardware made, and markete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Henry Stanley
Charles Henry Stanley (September 2, 1819 – October 6, 1901) was the first chess champion of the United States. When the first U.S. championship match took place in 1845, Stanley defeated Eugène Rousseau of New Orleans, and claimed the title of U.S. Chess Champion. Chess career Stanley was an Englishman who emigrated from London to New York in 1843 to work in the British Consulate, and his English ideas had a great influence on American chess. Stanley is a little-known figure who has been eclipsed by the achievements of the world famous Paul Morphy. Stanley defeated Eugène Rousseau of New Orleans in 1845 to claim the title as the first U.S. Chess Champion. One of his ideas was to have a regular newspaper column devoted to chess, which he started in 1845 in ''The Spirit of the Times''. He also started the ''American Chess Magazine'' in 1846, which together with ''The Chess Palladium and Mathematical Sphinx'' were the first American chess magazines. However, other magazines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander McDonnell (chess Player)
Alexander McDonnell (1798–1835), sometimes spelled MacDonnell, was an Irish chess master, who contested a series of six matches with the world's leading chess player Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais in 1834. Early life The son of a surgeon, Alexander McDonnell was born in Belfast in 1798. He was trained as a merchant and worked for some time in the West Indies. In 1820 he settled in London, where he became the secretary of the Committee of West Indian Merchants in which role he advocated strongly on behalf of slave-owning sugar plantation owners. It was a lucrative post that made him a wealthy man and left him with plenty of time to indulge his passion for chess. In his politics McDonnell was a committed Whig. Chess career In 1825 he became a pupil of William Lewis, who was then the leading player in Britain. But soon McDonnell had become so good that Lewis, fearing for his reputation, simply refused to play him anymore. Around 1825–1826, McDonnell played Capt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e6 This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5, with Black intending ...c5 soon after, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, although some lines such as the Winawer Variation can lead to complications. Black's position is often somewhat in the early game; in particular, the pawn on e6 can impede the of the bishop on c8. Basics Following the opening moves 1.e4 e6, the main line of the French Defence continues 2.d4 d5 (see below for alternatives). White sets up a , which Black immediately challenges by attacking the pawn on e4. The same position can be reached by from a Queen's Pawn Game after 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 or the declining of a Blackmar–Diemer Gambit after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6. White's options include defending the e4-pawn with 3.Nc3 or 3.Nd2, advancing it with 3.e5, or exchanging it with 3.exd5, each of which leads to different types ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
