Vaishali breaks silence on Nodirbek Yakubboev refusing handshake: 'Respect his views and decisions'

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali has finally opened up on the handshake controversy involving the 23-year-old from Chennai and Uzbekistan chess player Nodirbek Yakubboev . Vaishali said that she has known the Uzbek GM Nodirbek Yakubboev for a long time and that he is a “nice person”.

Nodirbek Yakubboev’s refusal to shake hands with Vaishali during Tata Steel Chess 2025 Challengers Round 4 match exploded into a massive controversy in the last week of January as legendary chess players criticised the Uzebek GM for his actions .

Nodirbek Yakubboev, who gave religion as the reason behind his denying a handshake with a female chess player, was also seen tendering an apology in person to Vaishali at Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, where the tournament was held.

Vaishali: ‘I also respect Nodirbek Yakubboev’s views and decisions’

Responding to the incident which snowballed into a massive controversy on social media, Vaishali said that she did not find the act of denying a handshake as “disrespecting” as she felt Nodirbek Yakubboev may have been unwell.

“The handshake is part of the game, but I also respect his views and decisions. I know him, it’s not like he is a new person in the chess world. I’ve known him for many years and have spoken to him. He is a very nice person. So this refusal of handshake, it did not occur to me that he is disrespecting me or something. It didn’t even occur to me. I thought maybe he was sick or something. Because in COVID, we had no handshakes. I thought maybe there was some reason,” Vaishali told The Indian Express.

Vishali had gone on to beat Nodirbek Yakubboev in the Round 4 match but it took a while before the video of the incident went viral on social media. Vaishali, who is also the elder sister of GM R Praggnanandhaa, said the handshake controversy had no impact on her game as she was focussed on giving her best.

“That incident did not affect me. I didn’t bother about it. Once the game started, I focussed on the game. There is nothing else to think about. This happened in the 4th game. Very much later in the tournament, everything blew up. I didn’t even know what was happening on social media. Only later I got to know. It was a strong tournament. I was just focussed on the tournament and the game,” Vaishali added.

Vaishali eventually finished ninth in the 14-player field and failed to qualify for the 2026 Masters section.