Kempelen announced that the automaton was ready to play chess against anyone prepared to challenge it, and recuited a volunteer—a courtier named Count Cobenzl—from the audience. Kempelen explained that his mechanical man would play the white pieces and have the first move, that moves could not be taken back once made, and that it was important to place the pieces exactly on the center of the squares, so that the automaton would be able to grasp them correctly. The count nodded. Kempelen then inserted a large key into an aperture in the cabinet and wound up the clockwork mechanism with a loud ratcheting sound.
Once Kempelen stopped turning the key there was an agonizing silence. Then, after a brief pause, the sound of whirring and grinding clockwork could be heard coming from inside. The carved figure slowly turned its head from side to side, as though surveying the board. To the utter astonishment of the audience, the mechanical man then lurched to life, reaching out its left arm and moving one of its chessmen forward. The room cried out in amazement. The game had begun.