Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #551

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Chess Robot Breaks Finger of Seven- year-oldOpponent At MoscowOpen
A chess-playing robot broke his seven-year-old opponent’s finger last week in Russia during a match at the Moscow Open.
It is not complete- ly clear why the robot chose to do what it did, but it seems it has something to do
with the boy tak- ing his turns too quickly.
Video of the inci- dent published by the Baza Telegram channel shows the robotic arm pinching the child’s finger before people rush in to help him free his hand and take him
away.
The president of the Moscow Chess Federation said it was rented to play against competitors and attempted to dis- tance the federa- tion from the robot.
“The robot was rented by us, it
has been exhibit- ed in many places by special- ists for a long time,” Lazarev said.
“Apparently, the operators over- looked some flaws.
“The child made a move, and after that it is neces-
sary to give time for the robot to respond, but the boy hurried, the robot grabbed him.
“We have nothing to do with the robot.”
Sergey Smagin, vice-president of the Russian Chess Federation said, “there are certain safety rules and the child, apparently, violated them”.
“When he made his move, he did not realize he first had to wait.
“This is an extremely rare case, the first I can recall.”
Baza said the boy’s name is Christopher and he is one the 30
best chess play- ers in Moscow in the under-nines.
He continued to compete the next day, finishing the tournament with his finger in a plaster cast and volunteers help- ing him with the recording his moves.
However, the par- ents have report- edly contacted the public prose- cutor’s office.
Lazarev said they will look to under- stand what hap- pened and try to help the family “in any way we can”.
He added that the robot’s operators “will have to think about strengthen- ing protection so that such a situa- tion does not hap- pen again”.
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