Chess is usually played by humans and needs a lot of focus, strategic thinking, and wit to win. But when a youngster and a robot played chess, something very different happened.
Many Russian news outlets claim that last week, during a match at the Moscow Open, the robot abruptly grabbed and broke a seven-year-old boy's finger.
The incident, which happened on July 19, was reported by the state-run news organisation RIA Novosti.
The vice president of the Russian Chess Federation reported the incident in a Telegram message by Channel Baza.
The boy's finger was broken by the chess robot, according to Sergey Smagin, vice president of the Russian Chess Federation,
since he made a quick move without giving the equipment time to finish its job.
A woman and three men can be seen rushing to save the youngster and escort him away in the video after the boy's finger is seen being repeatedly pinched by the robotic arm.
The youngster reportedly ignored a number of safety procedures because, according to Smagin, he was not aware that he needed to wait before proceeding.
Smagin did note, however, that the incident was a "quite exceptional case."
Lazarev, on the other hand, had a different explanation, saying that he had to allow the robot some time to
respond when the child moved. But as the child hurried, the robot grabbed his finger.
Christopher was the name of the boy, who Baza ranked among the top 30 players in the Russian capital under the age of nine.
According to Baza, the chess robot had already played three games on the day of the event before going up against Christopher.
The conclusion of Baza's article on the incident left the reader wondering if the robot would remain after hurting the child's finger or would be "put to sleep."
In a statement to RIA Novosti, Smagin emphasised that the situation was "just a coincidence" and that the chess robot is safe.
According to Lazarev, who talked to Tass, Christopher, whose finger was cast in plaster, did not appear to be particularly traumatised by the attack.
He said, "The young player concluded the tournament the very next day, and the volunteer helped to record the happenings."
But according to The Guardian, his parents got in touch with the public defender's office following the defence.
Smagin went on to say that even though the robot has already performed at several openings, kids needed to be "warned" the following time.