Authorities in Ivory Coast are investigating what they say was the murder of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the West African country.

Ivory Coast police say the body of Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Ahmed Al Rasheed was discovered by his driver early Friday morning.

Police sources say the unclothed corpse was found in a puddle of blood in the stairwell of the high rise apartment building where the Saudi diplomat lived, in Abidjan's central business district.

Ivorian officials called the killing bizarre, since the building is in a high security area adjacent to the United States Embassy. Furthermore, police believe it happened during curfew hours.

Perhaps his chess-playing got out of hand. Or, his opponent wasn't just a chess player but was hired for another sort of job. Or, maybe someone wanted to make it look like he'd been taken out by a chess player.