Uzbekistan GM Yukubboev explains handshake refusal to Vaishali

Dubai: While it’s not uncommon for players to avoid shaking hands in today’s world, Uzbekistan Grandmaster Nodirbek Yukubboev apologised to Rameshbabu Vaishali and provided a detailed explanation for his decision to refuse a handshake with the Indian player.

Vaishali, sister of chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa, defeated Yukubboev in the Challengers section of the 2025 Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, on Sunday.

A social media clip surfaced showing Vaishali extending her hand before the start of the fourth-round contest, but the Uzbek player simply waved it away and sat down, sparking a heated debate on various platforms.

Clarification on religious grounds

However, the 23-year-old Grandmaster took to X (formerly Twitter) to offer a full explanation, seemingly putting the controversy to rest.

“Dear chess friends, I want to explain the situation that happened in the game with Vaishali. 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,” he wrote.

“I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behaviour, I apologise. I have some additional explanations:

1. Chess is not haram.

2. What I did before (referring to the game with Divya in 2023 and cases like that) I consider it wrong for me.

3. I do what I need to do. 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,” he added.

“Today I told Irina Bulmaga about it. She agreed to it. But when I came to the playing hall, the arbiters told me that I should at least do Namaste as a gesture. In the games with Divya and Vaishali I couldn’t tell them about it before the game and there was an awkward situation,” he concluded.