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.
Schlumberger acted as the Turk's director in Europe and in the United States until his death from yellow fever in 1838.
The main source of information on Schlumberger's life is Willard Fiske's book of the first American chess congress[2] and, in particular, the section dedicated to “The history of the Automaton Chess-Player in America”.
He was considered very strong in Mathematics and he spoke not only French and German with which, as an Alsatian, he was equally familiar from childhood, but also in English.
His own account of himself was, that he had entered upon the business life, for which he had been so carefully educated, in Paris, where he and his brother were put in charge of the dépôt of the family establishment at Mulhouse.
He was thrown out of business by a commercial misfortune, and then he began to support himself by giving lessons in Chess at the Café de la Régence.
For this reason, he accepted the offer of Maelzel, the owner of The Turk, to operate the Chess-Automaton during its tour in America for fifty dollars a month plus travel expenses.
An article, "The Chess-Player Discovered," appeared in the Baltimore Gazette on Friday, June 1, 1827, exposing the matter.
Later, in Richmond, the Turk was observed by Edgar Allan Poe, who later wrote his essay "Maelzel's Chess Player" published in April 1836.
He observed: There is a man, Schlumberger, who attends him wherever he goes, but who has no ostensible occupation other than that of assisting in the packing and unpacking of the automaton.
Moreover, some years ago Maelzel visited Richmond with his automata, and exhibited them, we believe, in the house now occupied by M. Bossieux as a Dancing Academy.
The inferences from all this we leave, without farther comment, to the reader.On November 9, 1837, Schlumberger and Maelzel sailed to Havana, Cuba.
[1] The previously quoted book of the first American chess congress describes Schlumberger as a rapid Chess-player, but not particularly strong in the endgame.
It also adds some details about his opening repertoire: When the Automaton adhered to its claim of the first move, the game was made a gambit; when the adversary had the move, Schlumberger invariably resorted to Mouret's favorite defence of King's Pawn one—a Boeotian defence, thoroughly understood at the Cafe de la Regence—so often played afterwards by La Bourdonnais, so thoroughly detested by McDonnell In playing end-games, Schlumberger did not come off quite so well: he was sometimes beaten, although very seldom.
Bd3 An eccentric style of move, but by no means bad play under the circumstances 4...c5 His "Turkship" has not yet discovered the dexterity of his fair antagonist; expecting to achieve an easy victory he considers it beneath his dignity to take care of his Pawns.
21...Nd4 Badly played; his only chance to save the game would be to push King's Bishop's Pawn one square 22.
Never was better account rendered of Infidel and Saracen, on the sandy desert of his own soil, than is now given by the fair champion of Christendom of her unbelieving foe, on the chequered field of his own battle-ground.
The Automaton lost one end-game—the famous Three Pawn position—to Mr. Daniel Smith; and one full game to a lady, Mrs. Fisher.
Maelzel's devotion to the fair sex was quite too profound to allow his Automaton to insist upon his prerogative to take the first move; nay, Schlumberger is said to have had peremptory orders to get beaten.
After the lady's 39th move, Mr. Maelzel (says the newspaper), at this stage of the game, considering it lost, politely thanked Mrs. F., and observed that he was fairly beaten.
It was played with Charles Vezin (1781–1853), considered the founder and father of chess in Philadelphia and a good player.