AUTHOR=Zhang Renchi , de Winter Joost , Dodou Dimitra , Seyffert Harleigh , Eisma Yke Bauke TITLE=An open-source reproducible chess robot for human-robot interaction research JOURNAL=Frontiers in Robotics and AI VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2025 YEAR=2025 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1436674 DOI=10.3389/frobt.2025.1436674 ISSN=2296-9144 ABSTRACT=Recent advancements in AI have accelerated the evolution of versatile robot designs. Chess provides a standardized environment for evaluating the impact of robot behavior on human behavior. This article presents an open-source chess robot for human-robot interaction research, specifically focusing on verbal and non-verbal interactions. The OpenChessRobot recognizes chess pieces using computer vision, executes moves, and interacts with the human player through voice and robotic gestures. We detail the software design, provide quantitative evaluations of the efficacy of the robot, and offer a guide for its reproducibility. An online survey examining people’s views of the robot in three possible scenarios was conducted with 597 participants. The robot received the highest ratings in the robotics education and the chess coach scenarios, while the home entertainment scenario received the lowest scores. The code is accessible on GitHub: https://github.com/renchizhhhh/OpenChessRobot.