Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands): A controversial moment occurred at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament when Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev, a chess star from Uzbekistan, refused to shake hands with Indian Grandmaster R. Vaishali before their fourth-round contest. The incident, which was caught on video, created an uncomfortable scene, leaving Vaishali visibly awkward. The video, shared by ChessBase India on social media, shows Vaishali extending her hand to Yakubboev, who, instead of reciprocating the gesture, sat down without acknowledging it.

Yakubboev, who became a Grandmaster in 2019, later clarified the situation through a statement on 'X', explaining that his refusal to shake hands with Vaishali was due to his religious beliefs. "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."

The 23-year-old player, a practicing Muslim, stated that he does not engage in handshakes with women due to religious reasons, emphasizing that this was not meant to disrespect Vaishali or any female players. He expressed his respect for both Vaishali and her younger brother, Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa, two of India's top chess talents.

"I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behavior, I apologise. I have some additional explanations: 1. Chess is not haram," he wrote in his now-deleted X handle.

"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 explained.

The incident, however, did not go unnoticed. Vaishali, after defeating Yakubboev in their game, refrained from offering her hand as a response to the awkward situation. At present, Yakubboev has three points in the Challengers' section, while Vaishali holds four points after eight rounds.

In his statement, Yakubboev also explained that, before his game against Romanian player Irina Bulmaga in the eighth round, he informed her of his beliefs regarding physical contact. "Today (Sunday) 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 mentioned. PTI