Chess robot breaks finger of opponent during a match at Moscow open | Latest English News | WION

“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,” Chess Federation vice president Sergey Smagin told the Baza Telegram channel. “This is of course bad,” Lazarev said.

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The officials say the robot completed previous matches that day, as well as at previous exhibitions, without incident. In addition, based on the video footage, it does look like the child tried to move pieces while the robot arm was still in motion. At the same time, chess prodigy or no, what else would you expect from a seven-year-old?

While Christopher’s finger was fractured and put into a plaster cast, he still completed the tournament with volunteers helping to annotate his moves. While Russian chess officials maintain the robot is still “absolutely safe,” The Guardian reports that the child’s parents may be pursuing legal action with the public prosecutor’s office.