Mercury on the board

Chess scandal: Russian woman tried to poison her opponent

What happened at a chess tournament in Russia is almost unbelievable.(Bild: AFP/Symbolbild)

Scandal in the chess world: Russian Amina Abakarova is said to have tried to poison her opponent at a tournament. She has now been arrested and faces several years in prison.

The incident is said to have taken place at the beginning of August at a chess championship in Makhachkala. Abakarova is said to have spread mercury on her opponent Umayganat Osmanova's half of the board before the start of the game, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Footage from a surveillance camera is circulating on social media showing a woman in a room going to the chess table and pouring a substance on part of the board. When it came to the game, Osmanova suffered from dizziness and nausea and had to be treated by a doctor.

Several years in prison
Abakarova was arrested and now faces several years in prison. The president of the Russian Chess Federation, Andrey Filatov, announced that Abakarova had been suspended. According to him, there had recently been tensions between the two chess players.