Jean Taubenhaus

Jean (Jan) Taubenhaus (14 December 1850, in Warsaw – 14 September 1919, in Paris) was a Polish–born French chess master.

In the 4th international Congress of the German Chess Association (DSB) at Hamburg in July 1885, he took 14th place.

He had significant victories over Blackburne, unchallenged leader of English chess, and Gunsberg, Steinitz's opponent in later match for the world championship.

Living in Paris, Taubenhaus gave lessons at the Café de la Régence, where he played every day.

Taubenhaus was a primary operator of the remote-controlled Mephisto chess player machine.

The third automaton Mephisto was made by Charles Godfrey Gumpel, and unlike its predecessors The Turk and Ajeeb, it had no hidden operator and functioned by electro-mechanical means.

Gumpel took a few years to build it and it was first shown in 1876 at his Leicester Square home in London.