The Russian Chess Federation has suspended 40-year-old Amina Abakarova after she was caught appearing to poison her rival’s pieces.
There’s a new controversy sweeping the chess world and it’s wild enough, it sounds like something out of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.
On August 2 at the Dagestan Chess Championship, Abakarova was caught on security camera footage appearing to pour a substance on the board twenty minutes before her rival, Umayganat Osmanova’s match.
Abakarova had reportedly asked staff if the cameras were in operation and, when she was told they weren’t, she allegedly placed a grey powder on the board – something prosecutors claim was mercury from a thermometer. She’s accused of smearing the poison with a chess piece before stealthily leaving the scene.
When Osmanova eventually played later that day, she began to feel ill with “severe dizziness and nausea” and doctor assistance was needed. The health professionals determined that she had been poisoned and the CCTV footage was reviewed.
Chess isn't the Hunger Games. Chess champion Amina Abakarova was caught on video smearing mercury on rival Umayganat Osmanova's chess pieces, causing her to be hospitalized. She has been stripped of her title. pic.twitter.com/IqojTbEHMN
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 8, 2024
The police detained Abakarova, who reportedly confessed to the poisoning and explained that she wanted to “knock her opponent out of the tournament.” A week earlier, Osmanova had narrowly won the Rapid Chess Championship, edging out Abakarova via tie-breaks.
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Abakarova is facing charges of “intentional infliction of bodily harm” and could be looking at up to three years in jail if convicted.
“Like many others, I am perplexed by what happened, and the motives of such an experienced competitor as Amina Abakarova are incomprehensible,” Dagestan’s Minister of Sport Sazhida Sazhidova said.
“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.”
Amazingly, Osmanova was able to persevere and ended up placing second in the tournament despite feeling unwell.
The chess world has not been without its dramatics in recent years. In addition to this alleged assassination plot, the chess community has its eyes on a long-awaited grudge match between Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen after the Norwegian accused the youngster of cheating in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup.