Re: Russian chess player poisons rival's board with mercury

On Fri, 9 Aug 2024, Auric Hellman wrote:

On 8/9/2024 8:36 AM, JAB wrote:

In world first, Russian chess player poisons rival's board with
mercury
 At least it wasn't novichok.
 Russia is no stranger to unique poisonings. State agents have been
known to use everything from polonium-laced tea to the deadly nerve
agent "novichok" when making assassination attempts against both
defectors in the UK and internal political rivals like Alexei Navalny.
But a new "first" in the long history of poisonings was opened this
month in the Russian republic of Dagestan, where a 40-something chess
player named Amina Abakarova attempted to poison a rival by depositing
liquid mercury on and around her chess board.
 https://arstechnica.com/culture/2024/08/in-world-first-russian-chess-player-poisons-rivals-board-with-mercury/
 

>
I was fortunate during the mid-60s to have been acquainted with Fr. William Lombardi, who was Bobby Fischer's second in his famous match versus Boris Spassky. He told me these guys are as competitive and will try anything to undermined their opponent.
>

I'm not surprised at all. I think all sportsmen on the elite level who compete internationally must be enormously competitive.