In a scene reminiscent of the heyday of 20th century chess, a chess player was suspended and sentenced to up to three years in prison for poisoning his opponent.

It all happened at the Dagestan Chess Championship on August 2 and was first reported by Russia's Telegram channel before reaching the government media. Amina Abakarova, a 40-year-old player from the Russian Republic of Dagestan, was scheduled to play longtime rival Umayganat Osmanova, a 30-year-old who had beaten Abakarova for second place in a tournament the week before; the two had known each other for years and had recently played a close match, with Osmanova winning the first round and Abakarova winning the second round, Osmanova was favored.

About 20 minutes before the match was scheduled to begin, surveillance video showed Abakarova approaching the table and applying mercury liquid from a thermometer to the chessboard and pieces. She was told they were not.

Liquid mercury from thermometers is dangerous when it comes in contact with the skin, but the real danger comes from inhaling it, or worse, swallowing it, which can be fatal. Thirty minutes into the match, Osmanova began complaining of feeling sick, nauseous, and dizzy. A doctor was called, concluded that poisoning may have been the cause, and after reviewing surveillance footage (which can be seen below), the police were called and Abakarova was arrested.

Osmanova, the victim, later said she felt “terrible, disgusting, morally depressed” after learning she had been poisoned, adding that another player also became ill. 'I still feel sick,' Osmanova told Russia Today. 'For the first few minutes I had no air, I tasted iron in my mouth. I had to spend about five hours on this board. If I hadn't seen it earlier, I don't know what would have happened."

[10 [According to Russian media, Abakarova confessed to “personal hostility” toward Osmanova, adding that she “wanted to knock her out of the competition.” If convicted of attempted poisoning, she faces up to three years in prison. The Russian Chess Federation has suspended her temporarily and will likely impose a lifetime ban from playing the game until an independent investigation is conducted.

“The motives of an experienced competitor like Amina Abakarova are incomprehensible,” said Dagestan Sports Minister Sajid Sajidov. 'The actions she took could have had the most tragic consequences, endangering the lives of everyone present, including herself. Now she must answer for what she did by the law.”

“I have never seen anything like this before,” said Malcolm Payne of the British Chess Federation. 'As far as I know, this is the first time in the history of chess that there is any record of someone using a toxic substance.'

Or as Oliver Carroll of The Economist put it: “By Russian doping standards, it would be a seven out of ten. But still .......”

After treatment, Osmanova recovered and continued her competition, finishing second. Abakarova was expelled.