Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev on Sunday refused to shake hands with the Indian grandmaster R. Vaishali before their fourth round at the TATA Steel Chess tournament at Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands. Vaishali also did not offer her and after winning as well. However, he later clarified the situation that it was just a matter of his religious beliefs and nothing personal against the Indian through his X.

😡 Lors du Tata Steel Chess 2025, Nodirbek Yakubboev, un grand maître d'échecs ouzbek, a refusé de serrer la main de Vaishali, une grand maître indienne.

𝐘-𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭-𝐢𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚̀ 𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭… pic.twitter.com/AuxmAAivP8

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“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,” wrote Yakubboev who lost the match.

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“I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behavior, I apologise.”

“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.”

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He informed her in advance to avoid the same situation in the eighth-round game against Romania’s Irina Bulmaga.“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 (Deshmukh) and Vaishali I couldn’t tell them about it before the game and there was an awkward situation.”