Chess scandal unfolds as man cheats way through female championship dressed as a woman

The world of Chess has been rocked by an outlandish scandal that unfolded in Nairobi, Kenya last week as a man worked his way through a female-only competition.

Chess has long been known as a boring old-man's name, but controversies like this show that the sport is becoming more entertaining by the week.

This scandal occurred at the Kenya Open Chess Championship, as a man turned up to compete dressed in a niqab, which is a full-body garment worn by Muslim woman, as it is an interpretation of the traditional hijab.

The man showed up and registered as Millicent Wuor, refusing to speak to anybody at the competition, only using gestures such as nodding and shaking his head to communicate with others.

It was done to conceal his voice, which would presumably have blown his cover.

He had aroused suspicion among multiple people at the tournament, and his plan was exposed shortly after he had beaten former national champions Gloria Jumba and highly renowned Ugandan player Ampaira Shakir in back-to back chess matches.

The tournament staff decided then was the time to intervene, as they were hesitant to begin with, and took the imposter to a private room and requested some identification.

He confessed, admitting that he was a university student who needed the prize money, with the tournament winner standing to win an astonishing £33k.

The game of Chess has become more interesting for outsiders due to scandals like this. (PA Images)

He was promptly kicked out of the tournament, with his points being accrued to the opponents that he had faced up to that point.

This saga comes just months after little-known 19-year-old Hans Niemann defeated Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

After the match, Niemann was accused of using vibrating anal beads to cheat by remotely connecting them to an AI system that would indicate which move he should play.

The American unknown was then banned by chess.com in spite of the fact that there was no evidence of foul play found by anti-cheating experts.

Nieman has since filed a £80m defamation lawsuit against chess.com and his opponent Carlsen.

Joshua Nair

Freelance football writer.

@joshnair10