Chess Terminator - Robotic Hand that Rivals Ex-World Champ Kramnik

A chess robot built by Konstantin Kosteniuk, the father and coach of Alexandra Kosteniuk, who holds the title of women's world champion, has recently rivaled former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.

Dubbed "Chess Terminator", the machine represents a chess-playing robotic arm that not only thinks about the next move but actually grabs pieces on the chessboard to move them. After making its move the robotic arm presses the chess timer.

It appears that the machine is also energy efficient. According to its inventor, "Chess Terminator" can play 24/4 for 3 years in a row.

Although the robot was for the first time unveiled in June, recently it played a blitz match against former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.

Regarding the way the machine works, it does not really see the board, but it's connected to it. Each piece on the chessboard features special sensors and the Chess Terminator can detect their position and how they were moved. According to the received data the robot considers the next move.

Undoubtedly such concept has a number of drawbacks. One of them refers to draw offer, i.e. when Kramnic made a draw offer, the machine just kept on playing. The final result of the game was a draw, reports Chess In Translation.