By Razeen Gutta
A male chess player entered a women’s tournament disguised in a burka, but he was soon check-mated after running through some of the best players.
Kenyan chess player Stanley Omondi, 25, registered himself as Millicent Awour, but his bluff was called when organisers of the competition became suspicious of the unknown player’s success.
Omondi remained quiet throughout the competition and Chess Kenya president Bernard Wanjala said that he is likely to be banned from playing the game professionally for several years.
“We didn’t have any suspicion at first, because wearing a hijab is normal,” Wanjala told BBC Sport Africa.
“But along the way, we noticed he won against very strong players and it will be unlikely to have a new person who has never played a tournament being so strong.
“One of the red flags we also noticed were the shoes. He was wearing more masculine shoes than feminine.
“We also noticed he was not talking. Even when he came to collect his tag, he couldn’t speak. Ordinarily, when you are playing, you speak to your opponent because playing a chess game is not war, it’s friendship.
“When he advanced, after he won a very strong match and we called him, he was not even surprised.
“He acknowledged that indeed he is a man. He regrets what happened, apologised and said he was only doing that because he had financial difficulties and thought winning the title would help him overcome them.”
Omondi said in an apology letter that he was ready to accept the consequences and claimed he only did what he did due to his “financial needs”.
Pictured above: Stanley Omondi
Image source: @MowliidHaji
