The world of chess has been rocked after a Russian chess champion attempted to poison her childhood rival by covering her pieces in deadly mercury.
Now facing a possible prison sentence, Amina Abakarova, 43, was caught on a security camera smearing her rival’s pieces with the substance ahead of a tournament in Makhachkala, southern Russia last week.
According to the World Health Organisation, even minor exposure to mercury can have serious health consequences.
“chess champion” makes it sound like she’s a GM or somrthing. She doesn’t have any FIDE titles.
She did probably win some local chess-related competition, which technically makes her a “chess champion”. See also parks & rec “award winning” meme/quote.
Just typical editorial exaggeration and clickbait, par for the course in today’s “journalism”. I hate it.