Man Cheats His Way To Female Chess Tournament By Disguising As Woman

The world of chess has been rocked by a cheating scandal after a man entered a women’s tournament in Kenya disguised as a female.

Keen player Stanley Omondi thought he could get away with pretending to be a woman in the Kenya Open, but he was eventually rumbled and kicked out

He took the Scooby-Doo approach when he tried to pose as a woman to compete in a chess tournament.

Warner Bros

His costume was however most subtle than Scooby's blouse and hat.

When Omondi attended the Kenyan female open chess competition, it wasn't his attire that got in the way of his success. It was actually his talent.

The 25-year-old posed as someone else by covering himself in a burka from head to toe and wearing glasses that partially covered his eyes.

Officials were first unaware of his true identity when he signed up as Millicent Awour and started to play.

Chess Kenya President Bernard Wanjala told to BBC Sport Africa: 

"We didn't have any suspicion at first, because wearing a hijab is normal."

Chess Kenya

Later on in the competition, the organizers started to pay closer attention to "Millicent," who they saw was winning over "very strong players."

Chess Kenya

Wanjala explained:

"It [would] be unlikely to have a new person who has never played a tournament [being very strong],"

Also, one of the red flags we noticed was 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 its friendship,

Officials let Omondi play on despite their worries since they didn't want to be accused of focusing on the player because of their religious apparel.

They didn't decide to intervene until the fourth round, according to Wanjala, who added: 

When he advanced, after he won a very strong match and we called him, he was not surprised.

Omondi acknowledged that he was a guy and expressed "regret" for what happened.

The head of chess claimed Omondi expressed regret, adding: 

[He] said he was only doing that because he had financial difficulties and thought winning the title will help him overcome.

More than £2,400 ($3,000) would go to the tournament champion.

Omondi allegedly offered a second apology in a letter obtained by the BBC, in which he declared himself "ready to accept all consequences."

The case has now been forwarded to the organization's disciplinary committee because using a disguise to attend a competition is a first for Kenya's chess association.

Wanjala anticipates that the punishment "may include a ban" from the game, possibly for a number of years, but the president does not believe that the player would be permanently barred.

The international federal will also be asked to review the case.