A Chess Robot Broke the Finger of Its 7-Year-Old Opponent in Russia

A 7-year-old child’s finger was broken by a chess-playing robot during a tournament in Russia. 

The robot is thought to have been confused by the very fast moves played by its young opponent at the Moscow Open earlier this month.

Sergey Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation, told state media, "The robot broke the child's finger – this, of course, is bad.” 

“The robot was rented by us. It has been exhibited in many places, for a long time, with specialists. Apparently, the operators overlooked it. The child made a move, and after that we needed to leave time for the robot to answer, but the boy hurried, and the robot grabbed him,” he said.

The kid, who was named locally as Christopher and is reportedly among the 30 best players in the under-9s category, had his finger put in a cast and kept playing the next day.  

Video from the scene shows the child playing against the machine, which can play several games at a time, moving pieces quickly around the board. Then he freezes, and adults rush to help him free his finger. 

Sergey Smagin, vice-president of the Russian Chess Federation, told the Baza news agency, “There are certain safety rules, and the child, apparently, violated them. When he made his move, he did not realise he first had to wait.”

He added that the incident was extremely rare.