Chess robot breaks child's finger in Russian tournament

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Chess is supposed to be a non-contact game, but a boy in Russia found out otherwise when a competing robot smashed his finger during a tournament.

The boy was confronted by a bionic arm at the Moscow Chess Open when he moved one of his pieces, but didn't wait for the robot to respond. As he tried to make another move, the craft simultaneously reacted and grabbed the boy's finger, squeezing it until it broke.

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Surveillance video captured the chilling moment as people rushed to the boy's aid, managing to free him from the machine's grip and escort him away.

Moscow Chess Federation President Sergey Lazarev told Tass media that the boy's finger was broken and put in a cast, but he resumed playing the next day!

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Lazarev added: "The robot has been praised by us, it has been exhibited in many places by specialists for a long time. Apparently the operators overlooked some flaws."

Lazarev also promised to find out what was wrong, strengthen the robot's protections and help the family.