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.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t pure mercury. The victim suffered a severe reaction. Some organic mercury compounds are incredibly dangerous and can soak in easily through the skin. I’m surprised she’s only facing three years, this sounds like attempted murder.
There was that chemist who got two drops of dimethylmercury on her gloved hand and ended up dead a few months later. That shit’s scary.
Dr Karen Wetterhahn. Chubbyemu did an amazing video about the clinical side of her story and her final days succumbing to mercury poisoning, as well as how she was able to make use of her time to spread awareness about the dangers of mercury, and bring about much stricter safety protocols for handling it.