Chess incident

I personally spoke to her and she said that the report is untrue. I have known her for a long time I believe her if she says this is not the case.

Chess grandmaster Polihroniade hits two people at meeting
Scandal rocks Romanian chess
Report by chessdom

Romanian international women chess grandmaster Elisabeta Polihroniade hit two people at a meeting of the Romanian Chess Federation, which was electing a new president, on Saturday.

Dan Pasarelu, head of the CS Siciliana international chess festival, said the 75 years old Polihroniade, approached him saying she wanted to have a talk and then slapped him across the face. She then turned on journalist Viorel Sima who was recording with his phone, whom she hit with the mobile.

Pasarelu said in from of Romanian media: “Sima taped the incident with his mobile phone and wanted to show it to her, but she snatched the phone from his hand, scratched him and threw it in his face. She denied everything and went back inside saying I had hit her. A TV crew also filmed the incident.”

Dan Pasarelu also commented for Chessdom.com that Polihroniade “kidnapped Romgaz Bazna Kings” (a tournament aspiring to become part of Grand Slam) and also that she “kidnapped the National Romanian championship“.

Dan Pasarelu, who organized recently Cotroceni 2010, explained that Polihroniade attacked him when he proposed new team for the National Federation, and later attacked the jounalist that filmed with the mobile phone. The mobile phone record is probably destroyed, but another TV crew has everything on camera.

Sima said he is considering suing Polihroniade. “She stuck her fingernail in my hand. She took my phone and wouldn’t return it. I asked her to give it back for about two or three minutes, and then she threw it in my face and hurt my upper lip.

“I’ve been a journalist for 17 years and covered boxing and other dangerous sports, but I never thought something like this would happen at a chess event,” he added.

Elisabeta Polihroniade is Romanian Woman Champion in 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976 and 1977. She also participated 10 times in Chess Olympiads. In 2009 she organized the 3 day visit of Viswanathan Anand in Romania.

Elisabeta Polihroniade could not be reached to comment on the accident.