According to Russia’s TASS news agency, a chess robot broke the finger of a 7-year-old boy during a match at the Moscow Open.
The match took place last week according to Sergey Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation.
Mr Lazarev said: “The robot broke the child’s finger. This, of course, sucks.
“The robot was hired by us, it was exhibited in many places, for a long time, with experts,” he explains.
Mr. Lazarev added: “The child performed an action and then we needed time for the robot to respond, but the boy rushed and the robot grabbed him. We have nothing to do with the robot.” .
It is unclear if any safety instructions were given to the boy before playing with the robot.
A video purporting to show the crash was shared on the social media app Telegram.
In the video, the robotic arm – which appears to have a gripper at the end – appears to grip the boy’s finger as he quickly reacts to the robot’s actions.
Mr Lazarev said: “The kid competed the next day, finishing the tournament and the volunteers helped record the moves.
The boy’s parents intend to contact the prosecutor’s office, he added, saying that the Moscow Chess Federation will try to help them.
“Robot operators will have to think about increasing protection so that this does not happen again,” said Mr. Lazarev.
