Chess: Robot breaks child’s finger at chess tournament
A scandal recently broke out at a chess tournament in Moscow. A chess robot broke the finger of a seven-year-old boy. The boy was pitted against the robot when the machine’s arm suddenly grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. The President of the Moscow Chess Federation blames the boy for the incident.
A seven-year-old chess prodigy and a robot had an incident at a week-long chess tournament in Moscow. Kristofer, who is among the 30 strongest chess players in Moscow under the age of nine, was making his move when the robotic arm suddenly grabbed his finger and wouldn’t let go. It is said to have been the first incident with the robot in 15 years.
Chess Federation blames boy’s quick moves
As a video shows, Kristofer is just about to make his move when the robotic arm suddenly moves towards him and pinches his finger. The boy can no longer free himself and several spectators rush over to help him. The seven-year-old is said to have broken his finger in the accident, but returned the next day to complete the tournament and attend the awards ceremony.
“The robot broke the child’s finger – that’s bad, of course,” said Sergei Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation. However, the rapid movements of the child prodigy are to blame for the incident. “The boy made a move and then should have given the robot time to react. But the boy acted rashly and the robot grabbed him,” Lazarev continued.
Sergey Smagin, vice-president of the Russian Chess Federation, also blames the boy. This would have had to wait until the robot had finished its turn. But Kristof apparently decided on a quick backlash. “There are certain safety rules. The kid probably broke them in time trouble and didn’t notice when he made his move,” Smagin said.
Source: The Moscow Times, golem, The Guardians
Reference-www.pcgameshardware.de