Uzbek Chess Player Apologizes to Indian Opponent After Handshake Stir
A chess grandmaster from Uzbekistan who declined to shake hands with his Indian female opponent ahead of their game and later cited “religious reasons” has kicked up debate and criticism of his conduct on Indian social networks and media. Nodirbek Yakubboev, a Muslim, later tried to atone for what had looked like a snub by giving flowers to grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu in a filmed street encounter on Jan. 30 after she had beaten him days earlier at the 2025 Tata Steel Chess Masters, in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. “I’m sorry,” Yakubboev, 23, said in the video posted by ChessBase India. “It’s very understandable. I didn’t take it that way,” replied Vaishali, who is also 23. She was accompanied by her brother Praggnanandhaa, 19, who is also a grandmaster and went on to win the Masters category in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament there ended on Sunday. The polite exchange among the three chess players, who were bundled against the cold, might have been the end of it. But some Indians felt that Vaishali had been disrespected, and they said so on social media, while also reveling in Vaishali’s fourth-round victory over the Uzbek in the tournament’s Challengers category. Vaishali was playing with the black pieces. “You absolute queen,” one admirer said. The Hindustan Times said Vaishali had the “last laugh” by winning and that the video of Yakubboev’s apology was “like a Bollywood movie,” but The Times of India thought the apology was “heartfelt.” A few online commentaries mused on the interaction between sports and religion, in particular the display of religious faith or symbols during competition. International chess luminaries also gave their opinions. One perspective came from Hungary-born Susan Polgar, who was the women’s world chess champion for several years in the 1990s. “This is my opinion: I have less of an issue with the religious excuse. Others may disagree,” Polgar said on X. “BUT, he could have informed the organizers, chief arbiter, and/or his female opponents in advance. This is NOT an Open Swiss event. This is a prestigious invitational when he knew in advance that he would face 4 female opponents. If he wanted an exception then be proactive. Otherwise, he has to expect criticism.” In the ChessBase India video, Yakubboev is interviewed about what he acknowledged was an awkward situation. “I didn’t shake her hand because of religious reasons,” he said. “It was my fault that I could not inform her or the arbiter” before the game. Yakubboev was asked about a 2023 incident in Abu Dhabi in which he shook the hand of another Indian female opponent, Divya Deshmukh. Photos of that handshake circulated online in the last week, prompting comments that the Uzbek grandmaster was inconsistent in encounters with women facing him across the chess board. Yakubboev clarified that, starting in 2024, he began “following the rules of my religion” and that he now considered it wrong for him to shake the hands of other women. He said the fallout since his game with...
