“I felt a lack of air and a taste of iron in my mouth”: Russian chess player poisons opponent with mercury

Des caméras de vidéosurveillance l’ont filmée en train de tenter d’empoisonner sa rivale (illustration). Unsplash – Eugene Chystiakov

Russian chess player Amina Abarakova has been temporarily suspended after she attempted to poison her rival Umaiganat Osmanova during a tournament in Dagestan. The incident could result in her being disqualified from all competitions for life.

Russian chess player Amina Abarakova has been temporarily suspended from all competitions by the Russian Chess Federation and could be disqualified for life, reports Le Parisien.

CCTV cameras captured her attempting to poison her rival Umaiganat Osmanova during a tournament in Makhachkala, Dagestan, on August 2, 2024.

Toxic vapors

The footage shows Abarakova sneaking into a nearly empty room, approaching a chessboard, and looking around before taking an object out of her bag. She pours a substance on the table and rubs several pieces with it before leaving the room as if nothing had happened. During the match, Osmanova sat down at the chessboard, began to feel unwell, and eventually had to call an ambulance. She reported symptoms of nausea and dizziness, and doctors suspected poisoning from toxic fumes.

The tournament organizers, alerted to the sudden and suspicious illness, checked the CCTV footage and passed it on to the police. Abarakova eventually confessed to trying to poison Osmanova by breaking a thermometer and spilling mercury on the table. She justified her act by saying it was in response to insults Osmanova had made against her family during a previous tournament.

Out of danger

According to our colleagues, Osmanova, although now out of danger, said she still feels after-effects of the poisoning. “I still feel bad. In the first few minutes, I felt a lack of air and a taste of iron in my mouth,” she explained. The two players, who have known each other since childhood, have always been competitors at a regional level. This incident highlighted the tensions that exist between them.