A Russian chess player is in trouble with the law after allegedly using liquid mercury from a broken thermometer to poison a fellow player during a tournament. Amina Abakarova, a 40-year-old chess coach, is accused of poisoning 30-year-old player Umayganat Osmanova during the Dagestan Chess Championship on August 2.
During the tournament, Osmanova started feeling sick, experiencing symptoms like nausea and dizziness. It was later determined that she had been poisoned. Security footage showed Abakarova tampering with Osmanova’s chess board by smearing liquid mercury on it. This act was caught on camera, leading to Abakarova’s arrest by the police.
Osmanova described her experience, saying, “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 on this board. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t seen it earlier.” Two other individuals also suffered similar symptoms from the mercury poisoning.
Abakarova admitted that she wanted to eliminate her opponent from the tournament. The incident occurred after Osmanova had defeated Abakarova in a previous chess event. However, Abakarova claimed that her intention was not to cause harm, but to scare her rival.
As a result of her actions, Abakarova faces up to three years of jail time. The Russian Chess Federation has imposed a temporary ban on her participation in future chess events while the situation is being investigated. There is a possibility that she could receive a lifetime ban from chess competitions.
The Minister of Sports in Dagestan expressed confusion over Abakarova’s motives, stating, “Like many others, I am perplexed by what happened, and the motives of such an experienced competitor as Amina Abakarova are incomprehensible.” Despite the poisoning incident, Osmanova managed to recover and continued playing in the tournament, ultimately finishing in second place.