Man caught disguising himself as a woman to enter female chess tournament

A 25-year-old man took a Scooby Doo-style approach to tricking officials, when he attempted to disguise himself as a woman, to take part in a chess tournament.

Stanley Omondi's costume was admittedly a lot more subtle than Scooby's blouse and hat - though the fact he wasn't a large animated dog probably had a lot to do with that.

Warner Bros.

But it wasn't actually his outfit that caused Omondi's downfall when he entered the female open chess tournament in Kenya. Instead, it was his talent.

The 25-year-old disguised himself by dressing head-to-toe in a burka, with glasses partially obscuring his eyes.

He registered himself as Millicent Awour and began to play, with officials initially none the wiser about Millicent's true identity.

Speaking to BBC Sport Africa, Chess Kenya President Bernard Wanjala said: "We didn't have any suspicion at first, because wearing a hijab is normal."

It wasn't until later in the tournament that organisers began to pay more attention to 'Millicent', who they noticed was winning against 'very strong players'.

Chess Kenya

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

Officials noticed another red flag when they spotted Omondi's shoes, which were 'more masculine [...] than feminine', and became more suspicious when he refused to speak.

"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," Wanjala said.

In spite of their concerns, officials allowed Omondi to continue playing out of fear they might be accused of profiling the player due to their religious attire.

It wasn't until the fourth round that they decided to step in, with Wanjala saying: "When he advanced, after he won a very strong match and we called him, he was not surprised."

Chess Kenya

Omondi admitted to being a man, and is said to 'regret' what happened.

The chess president said Omondi apologised, adding: "[He] said he was only doing that because he had financial difficulties and thought winning the title will help him overcome."

The winner of the tournament would take home more than £2,400 ($3,000).

Omondi is said to have further apologised, in a letter seen by the BBC, in which he said he was 'ready to accept all consequences'.

Using a disguise to enter into a tournament is a first of its kind for Kenya's chess federation, so the case has now been referred to the body's disciplinary committee.

Wanjala expects the verdict 'may include a ban' from the game, potentially for several years, but the president doesn't think the player will be banned for life.

The case will also be referred to the international federal for consideration.