Chess robot breaks child player's finger: Video goes viral

This is one match that took a violent turn. A chess-playing robot in Moscow reached over and broke the finger of its 7-year-old opponent after the boy moved a bit too early.

In a video that is going viral on social media, the robot arm can be seen reaching across and grabbing the child prodigy by his fingers after he tried to make his move too quickly after the machine had captured one of his pieces.

A few adults in the video can be seen rushing to the boy's aid and pulling his fingers free from the clutches of the machine.


The video is reportedly from the Moscow Chess Open competition and it was first shared by the Baza Telegram channel. The boy was identified as Kristofer, who is one of the strongest players in Moscow under the age of nine.

After the video went viral on social media, many suggested the child's quick moves may have unsettled the robot. Others commented it's the start of the battle between humans and machines


Authorities though dismissed it as a rare instance. “The kid made a move and then should have given time for the robot to respond, but the boy rushed it and the robot grabbed him,” Sergei Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation, was quoted as saying by the Tass news agency.


Reports said the child player returned the next day with his fingers in a cast, and played on to finish the chess tournament.