MOSCOW — A 7-year-old boy is recovering after his finger was broken by a chess-playing robot in Russia last week at an event in Moscow.
Sergey Lazarev, the president of the Moscow Chess Federation told the state news agency TASS, that the incident happened Tuesday at the Moscow Chess Open after the child rushed the robot, NBC and CNN reported.
"Of course, this is bad," Lazarev said, the news outlets reported.
Lazarev told the Russian news outlet that after making a move, the child did not give the robot enough time to answer, so when the boy hurried it, the robot grabbed him, The Washington Post reported.
Lazarev added that they "have nothing to do with the robot," the newspaper reported.
According to the Associated Press, Lazarev said the robot was rented, and it appeared in previous events without incident.
Lazarev told Tass that the boy's finger was placed in a cast, so he was able to finish the tournament, the news outlets reported.
According to The Guardian and USA Today, a video of the incident was published by the Baza Telegram channel.
In the video, the news outlets reported that the robot could be seen grabbing the child's finger for several seconds before bystanders rushed in and released the robot's grip.
In an interview with RIA Novosti, Moscow Chess Federation's vice president Sergey Smagin said there aren't any plans to ban the robot, but they would evaluate safety procedures, USA Today reported.
