Russian chess champion allegedly caught on video trying to poison rival with mercury

A Russian chess champion has been accused of trying to poison her opponent during a recent tournament. The brazen move allegedly was caught on video.

Amina Abakarova, 40, faces a possible lifetime ban and potential criminal proceedings, NBC News reported.

'The actions she committed could have led to the saddest outcome.'

The incident occurred last Friday inside the tournament room of the Dagestan Chess Championship in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's Republic of Dagestan.

Security video purportedly shows Abakarova entering the room with a bag about 20 minutes before the tournament was set to begin. The 34-second surveillance clip appears to show Abakarova spreading a substance over one of the chessboards.

Sazhid Sazhidov — Dagestan’s sports minister — released a statement on the Telegram messaging app Wednesday alleging that Abakarova, who has won the tournament before, spread a substance that later turned out to contain mercury, NBC News reported.

The Russian Chess Federation issued a statement Wednesday describing the situation as "an attempt to poison a participant in the championship of the Republic of Dagestan in Makhachkala."

The target of the alleged attempted poisoning was Abakarova's rival – 30-year-old Umayganat Osmanova.

About 30 minutes into a tournament match, Osmanova allegedly fell ill with nausea and dizziness. She reportedly required medical attention.

"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," Osmanova told Russia Today.

Osmanova added to Russian newspaper Izvestia that she noticed "some tiny balls" rolling out from under her board. She initially had no idea what they were but soon realized they could have been mercury, after which she notified chess officials.

Chess.com reported that Osmanova recovered from the alleged attempted poisoning and finished second in the tournament. Abakarova allegedly was expelled after the fourth round.

Russian outlet RTVI reported that Abakarova allegedly said she wanted to "knock her opponent out of the tournament." However, a police report claimed that Abakarova meant to scare her opponent and not actually harm her.

According to the New York Post, Abakarova later admitted to the poisoning and allegedly confessed to police that she had broken a thermometer and smeared mercury across the chessboard.

Police have detained Abakarova, who now faces up to three years in jail, according to the Mirror.

Andrey Filatov — president of the Russian Chess Federation — said the organization had temporarily suspended Abakarova from all competitions until a law enforcement investigation is completed.

ABC News reported that Sazhidov stated, "I am 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," Sazhidov added. "Now she will have to answer for what she did before the law."

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