Chess-playing robot breaks seven-year-old boy's finger in Russian tournament

  • 30 Jul - 05 Aug, 2022
  • Mag The Weekly
  • Mag Files

A chess-playing robot latched onto and subsequently fractured a seven-year-old boy's finger at the Moscow Chess Open competition. The president of the Moscow Chess Federation, Sergey Lazarev, confirmed the incident. "The robot broke the child's finger – this, of course, is bad," Lazarev reportedly said. The incident – captured in the video – happened after the boy made a quick move on the board. "The child made a move, and after that it is necessary to give time for the robot's response, but the boy hurried, the robot grabbed him," Lazarev said. A video of the incident shows the robot's mechanical claw grabbing the boy's index finger and holding it for over 15 seconds before people were able to rescue the boy's hand from the machine's grip. "There are certain safety rules," said Sergei Smagin, the vice president of the Moscow Chess Federation. "The kid probably broke them in time trouble, and didn't notice when he made his move." Smagin suggested that this was a rare accident, noting that it is the first physical incident in the 15 years the robot has played chess against humans. The boy has been identified as one of the top 30 chess players in Moscow under the age of nine.

RELATED POST

COMMENTS