Naughty Chess Robot Pinches The Hands Of A Chess Boy In Russia, Because His Movements Are Too Fast

The chess robot arm is clamping the hands of the young chess player at Ruisa. (photo: TASS screenshot)

JAKARTA - A chess robot broke a child's finger during a tournament in Russia last week. The incident was caught on CCTV footage. According to Russian media, the robot grabbed the seven-year-old's finger in confusion at how fast his movements were.

"The robot broke the kid's finger - this, of course, is bad," Sergey Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation, apparently blaming the boy, told Russian news agency TASS.

The incident occurred at the Moscow Open tournament on July 19. Lazarev said the federation had hired a robot for the event, which runs from July 13 to 21.

Lazarev said the machine had been rented for many previous events without incident. He said that the boy's movements were too fast which made the robot confused.

“The robot we rented and has been exhibited in many places, for a long time, with specialists. Apparently, the operator ignored it," Lazarev said. “The kid is moving, and after that we need to give the robot time to answer, but the kid rushes, the robot catches him. We have nothing to do with robots."

A video of the incident was published by the Telegram channel Baza, which said the boy's name was Christopher. Baza said the boy was among the 30 best chess players in Moscow in the under-nine age group category.

According to The Guardian, Sergey Smagin, Vice President of the Russian Chess Federation, even outright blamed the boy.

“There are certain safety rules and the kid, it seems, is breaking them. When he moves, he doesn't realize that he has to wait first," Smagin said as quoted by The Guardian. "This is a very rare case, the first I remember."

The footage shows the robot, which consists of a single mechanical arm with multiple joints and 'hands' - in the center of a table and surrounded by three different chessboards. The AI (artificial intelligent) in the robot is said to be able to play three games at once.

Captured by a camera resting over the boy's shoulder, the video begins by showing the robot picking up a piece from the board and dropping it into a box to the side - used to hold pieces thrown out of the game.

While doing so, the boy grabs the chess piece to make the next move. However, the robot apparently mistook the boy's finger for a chess piece, and took it instead.

After grabbing the boy's finger, the mechanical arm froze in place, trapping the boy who was starting to panic. Several people standing around the table rushed to his aid, and after a few seconds were able to free him from the robot's grip.

Lazarev said in his statement that the boy was able to return to the tournament the next day, and was finally able to finish the tournament.

However, he told TASS that the boy's parents had contacted the prosecutor's office about the incident, and that his organization had been contacted by Moskomsport - the Ministry of Sports for the Russian capital.

He offered to help families "in any way we could", and warned that robot operators should "think about how to strengthen protection so this situation doesn't happen again."

Smagin told RIA Novosti the incident was a 'coincidence' and said the robot was 'absolutely safe'.

“This robot has featured in many openings. Apparently, the kids need to be warned. It happened,' said Smagin - calling the robot 'unique'.