Russian chess player allegedly tried to poison opponent by smearing pieces with mercury

It’s no queen’s gambit.

A Russian chess player is under investigation after allegedly being caught on camera spraying her opponent’s board with what authorities said was a substance containing mercury as part of an attempted poisoning ahead of a match last week.

Amina Abakarova faces a possible lifetime ban and potential criminal proceedings, Russian authorities said, after the incident during a tournament in the Caucasus republic of Dagestan. 

The Russian Chess Federation issued a statement Wednesday on what it said was “an attempt to poison a participant in the championship of the Republic of Dagestan in Makhachkala,” referring to Dagestan’s capital.

It said Abakarova has been temporarily suspended from all competitions under the authority of the national federation, pending the conclusion of a criminal investigation.

The statement linked out to a video of the incident shared by Baza, a Telegram news channel. 

The 34-second surveillance video purports to show Abakarova walking around what looks like a room with chessboards set up for a tournament and appearing to rub something on one of the boards, before looking around and walking away. 

Baza reported that the incident took place last Friday during a competition at the Chess House in Makhachkala. One of the participants who sat at the table with a board that was smeared fell ill during the tournament, Baza reported citing eyewitnesses, adding that organizers called police after reviewing surveillance video that evening.

The channel identified the woman who fell ill as Umaiganat Osmanova. 

Sazhid Sazhidov, Dagestan’s sports minister, released a statement on the Telegram messaging app Wednesday alleging that Abakarova, who hails from Makhachkala and has won the tournament before, spread a substance that later turned out to contain mercury, on the table that was used by Osmanova.

“As a result, during the game Osmanova’s health worsened and she required medical attention. However, no one else was hurt,” he said.

“At the moment, the lives of the participants and guests of the competition are not in danger,” Sazhidov said, adding that the tournament wraps up Thursday. 

“Like many others, I am perplexed by what happened,” he added. Abakarova’s alleged actions, he said, “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 her actions before the law.”

In an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia on Wednesday, Osmanova said that she saw “some tiny balls” rolling out from under her board during the tournament. She said she had no idea what it was until she realized it could have been mercury, so she alerted the organizers.

“I felt ill. I started breathing deeply and could not get enough air. I could not understand what was going on,” Osmanova said. 

She accused Abakarova of intentionally trying to poison her and putting many people in the building in danger. “Many people could have been hurt,” she added. 

Mercury can be a potent poison. The most common method of exposure is inhalation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which can result in respiratory symptoms. Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, renal dysfunction, visual disturbances and central nervous system damage may also occur, according to the agency.

The Russian Chess Federation’s executive director, Alexander Tkachyov, told state news agency Tass on Wednesday that officials were “deeply disappointed” by the incident. “We are waiting for the reaction of law enforcement agencies. If the chess player’s guilt is proven, then our reaction will be as harsh as possible. Up to lifelong disqualification,” he said.

The Dagestan Interior Ministry said Wednesday it was probing the incident and the substance in question. It did not say if Abakarova was in custody or facing any charges and  would not confirm any more details to NBC News over the phone Wednesday.

NBC News has reached out to both the national and the Dagestan chess federations for further comment, and to try and identify a representative for Abakarova.