Chess champion Amina Abakarova was allegedly captured on camera poisoning her opponent's chess pieces with mercury during a chess tournament in Russia.
East2WestFootage of Amina Abakarova allegedly poisoning her opponent’s chess pieces.
It’s checkmate for a Russian chess player accused of poisoning her opponent’s chess set during a competition.
On Aug. 2, 2024, Amina Abakarova was allegedly caught on camera smearing her longtime rival Umaiganat Osmanov’s chess pieces with mercury during the Dagestan Republic Chess Championship in Russia.
Abakarova has reportedly confessed to wanting to “knock her opponent out of the tournament.” Now, she is facing a lifetime chess competition ban and up to three years in prison.
Amina Abrakarova Allegedly Tries To Poison Her Opponent
East2WestAmina Abakarova, the woman accused of poisoning her chess rival.
In early August, a scandal rocked the Dagestan Republic Chess Championship in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s Dagestan Republic.
Amina Abakarova, a champion chess player, was allegedly caught on security footage smearing an unknown substance onto a chess board scheduled to be used by her longtime rival, Umaiganat Osmanova.
The footage shows Abakarova entering an empty game room. She looks around tentatively before approaching the chess board and brushing the substance onto the pieces. Then, she puts the pieces down and scans the room one last time before exiting.
Osmanova fell ill shortly after using the chess set, complaining of nausea and dizziness. She also reportedly saw “tiny balls” rolling out from under her board, causing her to question whether someone had tampered with it.
“I still feel bad,” Osmanova told Russia Today, according to USA Today. “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.”
When she realized the “tiny balls” could be mercury, Osmanova alerted the championship organizers. Soon after, they discovered the camera footage.
A Chess Rivalry Turned Ugly
East2WestUmayganat Osmanova, Abakarova’s rival and victim of the alleged poisoning plot.
After the footage was discovered, the Russian Chess Federation suspended Amina Abakarova until further notice, pending an investigating into the alleged poisoning.
Authorities tested the chessboard and determined that it contained dangerous mercury compounds. Mercury can be fatal to humans and cause permanent lung, kidney, nervous system, and brain damage.
Russian police have since arrested Abakarova. If found guilty, she could face up to three years in prison and receive a lifetime ban from chess competitions.
Abakarova and Osmanova have been rivals for years; recently, Osmanova beat Abakarova in another regional chess competition. Abakarova has allegedly confessed to the poisoning, telling authorities that while she hoped to knock Osmanova out of the competition, she had intended to scare Osmanova, not harm her.
Ironically, despite falling ill, Osmanova continued to compete in the Dagestan Republic Chess Championship and finished in second place.
Dagestan Sports Minister Sazhid Sazhidov stated that he was “perplexed by what happened, and the motives that guided such an experienced athlete as Amina Abakarova are also incomprehensible to me,” according to ABC News.
While her opponent continues to make a name for herself in chess competitions, Abakarova could be heading to jail.
“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,” Sazhidov said.
After reading about this bizarre crime, dive into the story of Aqua Tofana, the poison used by 17th-century Italian housewives to kill their husbands. Then, read about Locusta of Gaul, the poisons expert of Ancient Rome who served as Emperor Nero’s personal assassin.
