Robot Arms Play Chess at Russian Economic Forum to Showcase Industrial Precision

At Russia’s premier business forum, high-tech robotic arms stunned spectators by re-enacting a legendary chess match—demonstrating the precision and power behind the country’s industrial automation push.

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the Chelyabinsk-based company 'Robot Factory' unveiled its latest line of industrial manipulators—robotic arms engineered for high-load, high-precision tasks. The machines, capable of lifting up to 100 kilograms, are built for deployment across a range of manufacturing sectors.

To highlight their accuracy, the robots re-enacted a historic 1994 chess match between Russian grandmaster Anatoly Karpov and Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov. The demonstration wowed the crowd, showcasing the machines’ ability to execute complex movements with surgical precision.

This display is part of a broader wave of innovation sweeping Russia’s manufacturing landscape. Today’s smart robotics systems sort goods, operate machinery, assemble equipment, and boost productivity by two to three times over conventional methods.

Further evidence of this trend can be found in Orenburg, where a new plant has launched to mass-produce robotics for the meat processing industry—a sign that intelligent automation is rapidly becoming mainstream in Russian manufacturing.

Domestic robot arms are now seen as critical tools in the country’s push for technological self-sufficiency and industrial modernization.