A Russian chess champion was caught on CCTV spraying pieces with mercury to poison her childhood rival before a competition.
Amina Abakarova, 43, was filmed entering the tournament hall of the Dagestan Chess Championship in Makhachkala, southern Russia, last Friday and taking what appeared to be a flask out of her bag.
He then poured the contents of the flask (which turned out to be mercury) onto a chessboard and tried to hide the liquid by wiping the board with a chess piece.
The chessboard Abakarova is attacking belongs to 30-year-old Umayganat Osmanova, with whom she is said to have been at odds for years.
Abakarova attacked rival Osmanova to get revenge for insulting her and her family, according to competitors who spoke to her at the tournament.
Amina Abakarova, 43, was filmed entering the tournament hall of the Dagestan Chess Championship in Makhachkala, southern Russia, last Friday and taking what appeared to be a flask out of her bag.
He then poured the contents of the flask, which turned out to be mercury, onto a chessboard and tried to hide the liquid by wiping the board with a chess piece.
The chessboard Abakarova is pointing to (pictured) belongs to 30-year-old Umayganat Osmanova, with whom she is said to have been in conflict for years.
Abakarova attacked rival Osmanova (pictured) to get revenge for insulting her and her family, according to competitors who spoke to her at the tournament.
Witnesses said Abakarova behaved suspiciously 20 minutes before the competition began, asking whether cameras set up to record the matches being played were already working.
When she was told no, she decided to carry out her plan and looked around to make sure no one was watching as she approached Osmanova’s table.
But she didn’t realize that the cameras were already on in the tournament room, ready for the event on August 2.
Osmanova, who was later sitting at the table where the poison was poured, reportedly suffered severe dizziness and nausea shortly after the game began.
She was later hospitalized for suspected mercury poisoning.
When a referee examined CCTV footage from the tournament, police were called after Abakarova was seen pouring the substance onto Osmanova’s board.
Abakarova pulled what looked like a flask out of her bag before pouring it onto her opponent’s chessboard.
Chess officials did not wait for the results of the police report and confirmed that Abakarova (pictured) was immediately stripped of her Dagestani Chess Champion title after seeing the footage.
Abakarova first placed a bag under a table after entering the room, before walking to the table behind her while looking around to pour the poison onto her opponent’s chessboard.
“We have video evidence showing that one of the players of the Dagestan chess championship, Amina Abakarova… applied an unidentified substance, which later turned out to contain mercury, to the table where Umayganat Osmanova… was to play against her,” said Sazhid Sazhidov, Russia’s sports minister. Telegraph.
Sazhidov added that he was “perplexed” by Abakarova’s attack and that her motives were “incomprehensible.”
Russian police have confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the charge of “inflicting bodily harm.”
However, chess officials did not wait for the results of the police report and confirmed that Abakarova was immediately stripped of her Dagestan Chess Champion title after viewing the footage.
Russian Chess Federation chief executive Alexander Tkachyov said his organisation was considering banning Abakarova for life but would await the outcome of the police investigation.