This Chess-Playing Robot Was Competing; Then It Broke Its Opponents’ Hand

Artificial intelligence AI robots are nothing new in the world of chess. For years, scientists have harnessed the power of smart robots against chess grandmasters. But in shocking news, a chess robot breaks a boy’s finger while in a competition in Russia.

In late July, video footage of a robot holding its opponents’ hand went viral online. The result is a 7-year-old boy fracturing his hand upon prolonged contact. 

According to the Moscow Chess Foundation, the robot held the boy’s hand for about 15 seconds before letting go.

A freak incident?

In an interview with Tass, a state-controlled news network, the chess federation said the boy hurried the robot. The event took place during the Moscow Open Chess Competition.

The video shows the robot reaching for the boy’s piece and discarding it. In response, the boy attempted another move. He pushed one of his rooks to the spot of the recently moved piece. But, the robot’s arm had yet to retract. 

So, the robot reached its mechanical claws toward the board. But instead of reaching for a chess piece, it grabbed the boy’s fingers for about 15 seconds. Two bystanders jumped to action and tried to pry the claws open. But, the chess robot had already fractured the boy’s finger. 

Sergey Lazarev, a representative of the federation, reacted to the situation. He begins by clarifying that there were certain safety rules that the child violated. “When he made the move, he did not realize he first had to wait,” he said. 

Lazarev also noted that prior to the incident, the machine had played other matches. All went without a hitch. He still stands that the robot is safe. But because the chess robot breaks the boy’s finger, he says, “This is, of course, bad.” He added that the children “apparently need to be warned” about the safety rules. Nevertheless, the boy continued playing in the competition with his hand on a cast. 

Furthermore, he also revealed that the boy’s parents were thinking of calling the prosecutor’s office. Lazarev promised that the federation “will communicate, try to sort it out and help in any way we can.” 

He added that the robot operators have to do some thinking, so the situation doesn’t happen again. 

Chess Robot Breaks Boy’s Finger Incident Elicits Online Reactions

News outfits say a Telegram post from Baza News named the boy Christopher. According to the outlet, he is in the top 30 list of best chess players under 9. 

Since videos of the event went online, social media users expressed a lot of fear. 

Garry Kasparov, a Soviet Era world chess champion, even tweeted: “I tried to warn you!” Kasparov had been famously defeated by an AI chess robot himself. In 1997, the supercomputer Deep Blue, programmed by IBM scientists, defeated Kasparov in a six-game match. 

And since Kasparov’s bitter loss, scientists have only strengthened chess robots. Even today, a joint chess program by Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Toronto is in the works. Entitled Maia Chess, the program seeks to use chess as a case study to help AIs develop human skills. 

And the chess robot breaks boy’s fingers incident may serve as a case study itself.

AI in chess

Notably, AI in chess has been popularized since the late 90s. It’s not uncommon to find chess apps and games which put players against robots. 

The system itself began taking shape in the 70s. By then, scientists have created chess-playing calculators. Deep Blue was created in 1989. But that same year, it was defeated by Kasparov in two games. Scientists then continued to program Deep Blue until it could defeat Kasparov. 

But since chess robot breaks boy’s fingers, operators have a new puzzle to figure out. And that’s to guarantee the safety of human opponents.

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