Chess robot grabs and breaks finger of SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy after child ‘violated’ safety rules by taking turn too quickly
A CHESS robot grabbed the hand of a seven-year-old boy and then broke his finger in distressing scenes.
And the Russian authorities blamed the kid for taking his smart move too quickly.
The boy, named locally as Christopher, is thought to be one of the best young chess players in the Russian capital city.
But he suffered the horrible injury while competing in the Moscow Open this week.
Video footage shows the robot making a move to steal one of the child’s pieces.
As he drops it into the box beside the board, the quick-thinking boy immediately responds with a move of his own.
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But picking up his piece, his electronic opponent took grip of his hand with its claws and crushed his hand.
A group of four adults rush to the boy’s assistance immediately and manage to break him free and lead him away – but not before the damage is done to his finger.
The broken digit was later placed in a plaster cast and the boy was reportedly not too traumatised, thankfully.
However, his parents are said to have contacted the public prosecutor’s office.
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It is understood the chess robot has never had any similar dramatic incidents before – but manufacturers will have to look this to ensure there are no repeats.
President of the Moscow Chess Federation, Sergey Lazarev, told the TASS news agency: “The robot broke the child’s finger. This is of course bad.
“The child played the very next day, finished the tournament, and volunteers helped to record the moves.”
He added the child had “made a move, and after that we need to give time for the robot to answer, but the boy hurried and the robot grabbed him”.
Sergey Smagin, vice-president of the Russian Chess Federation, told Baza: “There are certain safety rules and the child, apparently, violated them.
‘CHILDREN NEED TO BE WARNED’
“When he made his move, he did not realise he first had to wait.
“This is an extremely rare case, the first I can recall.”
Smagin also added the incident was “a coincidence” and the robot – which can play multiple chess matches simultaneously – is “absolutely safe”.
He continued: “It has performed at many opens.
“Apparently, children need to be warned. It happens.”