Indian GM Vaishali schools Uzbek man who refused customary handshake
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Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev explained his reason for not shaking hands with Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali during a game at the Tata Steel Challengers event at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands.
Yakubboev was criticized for ignoring Vaishali's customary handshake before he sat down for their fourth-round game. The 23-year-old said he respects Vaishali but refused the handshake for religious reasons.
"With all due respect to women and Indian chess players, I want to inform everyone that I do not touch other women for religious reasons," Yakubboev posted on X, also called Twitter. The young Uzbek star provided the explanation after chess player and broadcaster Jesse February flagged the incident with a social media post and shared a video of it, triggering a debate.
"I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behaviour, I apologize," Yakubboev posted. Vaishali is the elder sister of GM R Praggnanandhaa, who is competing in the Masters section of the event.
Yakubboev further claimed that he does not regard chess as haram. He said he could not explain himself to Vaishali and fellow Indian IM Divya Deshmukh, whom he defeated in round one, leading to the 'awkward situation'. "I do not insist others not to shake hands with the opposite gender or for women to wear hijab or burqa. It is their business what to do," Yakubboev added.
The three-time Uzbek national champion shook hands with Deshmukh during a game two years ago. "What I did before (referring to the game with Divya in 2023 and cases like that), I consider it wrong for me," he said.
Nevertheless, Vaishali was not bothered by the handshake snub and went on to score a big win over Yakubboev. Playing with black pieces, Vaishali was relentless as she unleashed an attack on the queenside forcing Yakubboev to resign after 32 moves. Yakubboev is ranked 67th in the world, while Vaishali is placed 808th in FIDE rankings.
Vaishali secured bronze at the recent World Blitz Chess Championship in New York. After eight rounds in the Tata Steel Challengers event, Vaishali is placed 7th in the points table with 4.5 points, while Thai Dai Van Nguyen of the Czech Republic is the sole leader on 6 points.