A Russian chess champion allegedly attempted to poison her rival with mercury ahead of a chess match in an effort to "knock her opponent out of the tournament," cops alleged.
Amina Abakarova, 43, was captured on surveillance footage allegedly smearing mercury on 30-year-old Umayganat Osmanova's chess pieces before the start of a tournament in Makhachkala, Russia, last week, police said, Russian media RTVI and The Independent reported.
Footage of the alleged incident shared on social media appeared to show Abakarova approach her opponent's chess board ahead of her arrival, and taint the pieces with a substance that subsequently turned out to be mercury, according to authorities.
🇺🇦😮😮😮 Russian chess player Amina Abakarova blasted her supergirl Umayganat Osmanova with mercury at a chess tournament in Dagestan. She spilled mercury on the table shortly before the competition in order to knock her rival out of the tournament.
— Tracey SBU Fella 🇬🇧🇺🇦 #NAFO (@trajaykay) August 8, 2024
" pic.twitter.com/84mQdGChnk
The victim later on claimed to feel dizzy and nauseous, and a doctor suggested she had been poisoned.
Speaking with RTVI, Osmanova said she felt "terrible, disgusting and morally depressed" and that she and Abakarova have been chess rivals since childhood. They reportedly got into an argument a week prior at another chess match.
"I still feel bad. In the first minutes I felt a lack of air and a taste of iron in my mouth... I had to spend about five hours at this board – I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't seen it earlier," she said.
The Russian Chess Federation announced the suspension of Abakarova "from participating in all competitions held under the auspices of the Russian Chess Federation until the conclusion of law enforcement agencies, on the basis of which a final decision will be made, up to and including a lifetime disqualification," it said in a statement, according to the outlet.
"Like many others, I am perplexed by what happened, and the motives of such an experienced competitor as Amina Abakarova are incomprehensible,"Russian Minister of Sport Sazhida Sazhidova told The Telegraph.
"The actions she took could have led to a most tragic outcome, threatening the lives of everyone who was present, including herself. Now she must answer for what she did by the law."
