Chess legend Polgar says Yakubboev deserves criticism for refusing to shake hands with Vaishali: 'He could have informed...'

Hungarian-American chess grandmaster Susan Polgar has hit out at Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev after he refused to shake hands with Indian GM R Vaishali during the ongoing 2025 Tata Steel Chess tournament in the Netherlands last week.

Nodirbek had said that he refused a handshake with Vaishali due to “religious reasons”.

“I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behavior, I apologize," Nodirbek had said on social media.

‘What is the difference’? 

However, Susan shared a photo on “X” where Nodirbek could be seen shaking hands with India’s Divya Deshmukh during the 29th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival in 2023. “What is the difference?,” asked the legendary chess player while tagging the official handle of ChessBase India.

What is the difference? 🫣 @ChessbaseIndia pic.twitter.com/Mj2f6ATQgC

— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) January 28, 2025

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She further explained her opinion on the incident, adding that Nodirek could have informed the officials or even the female players in advance of his decision to not shake hands. “This is my opinion: I have less of an issue with the religious excuse. Others may disagree.

“But, he (Nodirbek Yakubboev) 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,” she added.

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This is my opinion: I have less of an issue with the religious excuse. Others may disagree. 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…

— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) January 28, 2025

Nodirbek on why he didn’t shake hands with Vaishali 

A few days ago, Nodirbek explained why he didn't shake hands with Vaishali and apologised to the 23-year-old. “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 had written on “X”.

Explaining why he shook hands with female players in the past and no now, Nodirbek said: “I have some additional explanations: 1. Chess is not haram. 2. What I did before (referring to the game against Divya in 2023) I consider it wrong for me. 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.

“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.

After nine rounds of the Tata Steel Chess tournament , Vaishali is in eighth place with five points in the Challengers section. Nodirbek is in 10th place with 4.5 points whereas Divya, who has won just two points, is in 13th place in the 14-player standings.