'This is of course bad' - Chess robot grabs and breaks finger of seven-year-old opponent

Moscow incident occurred because child ‘violated’ safety rules by taking turn too quickly, says official

Video of the 19 July incident published by the Baza Telegram channel shows the boy’s finger being pinched by the robotic arm for several seconds. Picture: TASS/Guardian

Played by humans, chess is a game of strategic thinking, calm concentration and patient intellectual endeavour. Violence does not usually come into it. The same, it seems, cannot always be said of machines.

Last week, according to Russian media outlets, a chess-playing robot, apparently unsettled by the quick responses of a seven-year-old boy, unceremoniously grabbed and broke his finger during a match at the Moscow Open.