A shocking incident has come to light from Russia where a professional chess player poisoned her opponent over "personal hostility", according to local media reports.
40-year-old Amina Abakarova was caught on CCTV camera spilling mercury from a thermometer on her rival's chess board before their match in the Chess Championship in Makhachkala.
The victim, 30-year-old Umayganat Osmanova, reportedly fell ill after the tournament suffering from "severe dizziness and nausea".
A judge later told the police about the incident after which the CCTV footage was accessed, which clearly shows Abakarova committing the crime. She has been detained and now faced up to 3 years in jail if convicted.
Bizarre motive behind crime
"Like many others, I am perplexed by what happened, and the motives of such an experienced competitor as Amina Abakarova are incomprehensible.
“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,” said Minister of sport in Dagestan Sazhida Sazhidova.
Accused confesses to her crime
Abakarova later confessed to the crime and revealed that she tried to poison Osmanova after being defeated by her in a regional contest. She also accused Osmanova of being rude about her and her relatives behind her back.‌
Osmanova now wants “maximum punishment” for Abakarova from the court of law. Abakarova faces charges of "intentional infliction of bodily harm," with her friends calling her alleged behaviour “completely out of character”.
