The Morning After: A chess robot broke the finger of its 7-year-old opponent

Sometimes the headline says it all: A chess-playing robot accidentally broke the finger of its seven-year-old opponent during an exhibition match in Moscow. The child apparently moved his piece too soon, and the robot grabbed his finger and squeezed it, resulting in a fracture.

A video the robot grabbing the boy’s finger and holding it for several seconds before a group of people come to free him.

The boy competed the next day, finishing the tournament. His parents, however, have reportedly contacted the public prosecutor’s office. Russian chess official Sergey Smagin downplayed the incident, calling it “a coincidence” and saying the machine was “absolutely safe.” Which I’m not sure is true.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

The initial line-up of GaNPrime devices: 5 products and a power bank.

Anker has revealed its third-generation gallium nitride (GaN) chargers, barely a year after the previous batch. The company is branding the new line-up of power bricks and portable chargers as GaNPrime. Anker said it worked with several partners to create products that last longer and are more sustainable. It claims GaNPrime is the “most intelligent, most powerful and greenest multi-device charging system ever created.”

Continue reading.

Its foundries will add ‘significant capacity’ for MediaTek in North America and Europe.

Intel and MediaTek have formed a strategic partnership to build chips. The aim is to ensure MediaTek has a “more balanced, resilient supply chain,” with added capacity in the US and Europe. It looks like Intel won’t be building chips for smartphones but for less glamorous devices used in industrial computing, medical devices and internet-of-things applications.

Continue reading.

It’s more affordable than Game Pass but has some viewing restrictions.

NFL+ gives you access to live football streams and ad-free library content through the NFL App and the web, starting at $40 per year or $5 per month. Spend $80 per year or $10 per month on NFL+ Premium and you also get ad-free match replays. There are some catches, however. While you’ll have live audio for every game regardless of device, live video is only available for live local and primetime games on phones and tablets — you can’t use this to watch a playoff run on your TV.

Continue reading.

A matching promo offers extra points for rewards program members.

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Google is… unveiling a new logo. No, no free games or trials, but you can get extra points if you’re signed into the app store’s rewards program. Which apparently exists.

Continue reading.

The vinyl figurine company and 10:10 Games are making an action platformer.

Funko, which is best known for its Pop vinyl figurines, is about to venture into new territory. It’s making video games with the help of developer 10:10 Games. The studio is led by Jon Burton, the founder of Traveller’s Tales and TT Games. Funko says its first game will have “major third-party studio integration,” which probably shouldn’t be a big shock given the high-profile licensing deals.

Continue reading.