A chess robot broke a 7-year-old boy's finger at the recent Moscow Open while giving a simultaneous exhibition. It seems to have been the first accident in over a decade of the robot's career, though former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik once came close to disaster!

The chess robot of Konstantin Kosteniuk, the father of Alexandra Kosteniuk, was on exhibition at the Moscow Open when disaster struck. The robot removed a piece on d1 and the boy recaptured, forgetting that the robot still had to put its own piece on d1.

The boy's finger got stuck and he needed assistance to release it.

Chess officials didn't cover themselves in glory as they blamed the young chess player. Sergey Smagin, Vice President of the Russian Chess Federation, was quoted as saying:

It seems the damage was limited, however, with the child managing to play in the tournament on the following day.

Meanwhile, it's not the first time the industrial robot has given a chess player a scare. Back in 2010, the 14th World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik managed to draw the robot, in a game where he tricked the robot at one point by putting a pawn between two squares, while Magnus Carlsen looked on.

The robot nearly had the last laugh, as when it later paused Vladimir offered his hand for a draw, only to have to remove it very fast when the robot played on!

It's clear the robot is impressive and fun, but some extra safety precautions may be required!