Russian Chess Player Accused of Poisoning Rival's Board With Toxic Mercury

Police in Russia have launched a criminal investigation after a chess champion was caught on camera allegedly poisoning her rival’s board with toxic mercury during a regional competition in the Russian Republic of Dagestan.

Organisers were forced to suspend the chess tournament held in the city of Makhachkalaere on August 2, after 30-year-old European champion Umayganat Osmanova’s health suddenly deteriorated while taking part in the competition. Police officers investigating the scene later discovered a strange substance on Osmanova’s table, which was subsequently analysed and confirmed to be a form of mercury.

Exposure to mercury can be extremely hazardous and is capable of triggering a range of serious health problems affecting the lungs, eyes, and the digestive and immune systems. During a subsequent investigation, security footage emerged online showing Osmanova’s opponent and rival in the competition Amina Abakarova allegedly spread a substance over the table.

Russian chess champion Amina Abakarova was caught on CCTV trying to poison her rival pic.twitter.com/I23Wpar0nb— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) August 8, 2024

The Republic of Dagestan's minister of sports Sazhid Sazhidov assured fans via a Russian-language Telegram post that Osmanova is not in a life threatening condition, while the Russian Chess Federation noted that “no one else was hurt” as a result of the poisoning attempt. However, Russian outlets have since reported that another woman and a competition organizer also become unwell following the alleged attack.

Russian media site RTVI reports Osmanova had known Abakarova since childhood, and that the two had grown to become rivals before falling out during a recent competition, in which the latter brought a phone to a competition, in violation of the event’s rules.

“Like many others, I am perplexed by what happened, and the motives of such an experienced athlete as Amina Abakarova are also unclear to me,” wrote Sazhidov in the Telegram post, translated to English via machine translation. “The actions she took could have led to the most tragic outcome, they threatened the lives of everyone in the chess house, including herself. Now she will have to answer for what she did before the law.”

According to the Mirror, Abakarova could face up to three years imprisonment if found guilty of the poisoning. She has also been suspended by the Chess Federation of Russia, and faces a lifetime ban pending the outcome of legal proceedings. Osmanova meanwhile was able to rejoin the tournament, and play on to secure a second place finish.

Image Credit: GMC on YouTube

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer