A Russian chess player has been put in check after an alleged attempt to tilt the board in her favour.
Amina Abakarova is under investigation by the Russian Chess Federation for allegedly plotting to poison a rival during the Dagestan Republic Championship last week in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s Dagestan republic.
Federation president Andrey Filatov said the organization is suspending Abakarova from all of its competitions until law enforcement agencies conclude their investigation.
Abakarova also has been stripped of her previous championships.
The chess federation said she will face a punishment “as harsh as possible,” namely a lifetime disqualification. Abakarova, who is from Dagestan, also could face criminal charges.
In security camera footage posted to YouTube by Diario AS, a woman appearing to be Abakarova places a substance on the table by a chess board and on at least one piece of the set.
Dagestan sports minister Sazhid Sazhidov said in a statement that Abakarova had “treated the table at which she was sitting with an unknown substance, which later turned out to be mercury compounds.”
He also alleged that her opponent and alleged target was fellow Dagestani Umaiganat Osmanov.
On Wednesday, state news organization Tass reported Osmanova sat at the chessboard that appeared to have been tampered with and fell ill.
The Ministry of Sports for the Republic of Dagestan confirmed Osmanova was poisoned with a substance that contained mercury.
Osmanova later told Russian newspaper Izvestia she was “breathing deeply and could not get enough air” while sitting at the chessboard and described seeing “some tiny balls” around the game board, but initially did not realize what the substance was.
Sazhidov added that he was “perplexed by what happened, and the motives that guided such an experienced athlete as Amina Abakarova are also incomprehensible to me.”
“The actions she committed could have led to the saddest outcome. They threatened the lives of everyone who was in the chess house, including herself. Now she will have to answer for what she did before the law.”