 "Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Yakubboev refused to shake hands with R Vaishali at Tata Steel Chess tournament due to religious beliefs. Image: X screengrab")
Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Vaishali recently defeated Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev in the Challengers section of the 2025 Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. The two clashed in round four of the competition and Vaishali got the better of Nodirbek with black pieces.
However, that game was marred by controversy after Nodirbek declined Vaishali’s offer for a handshake. In a video that went viral on social media, Vaishali offered Nodirbek a handshake before the contest. Still, Nodirbek refused to do so, just subtly waving his hand.
The 23-year-old Uzbekistani grandmaster later took to “X” to explain why he refused to shake hands with Vaishali. He said that he does not touch women due to religious beliefs.
‘I do not touch other women due to religious reasons’: Yakubboev
“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 wrote while tagging ChessBase India and Uzbekistan Chess.
He, however, added that he had the utmost respect for Vaishali and R Praggnanandhaa, her brother who is also a grandmaster. “I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behavior, I apologize. I have some additional explanations: 1. Chess is not haram.”
“2. What I did before (referring to the game with Divya in 2023 and cases like that) I consider it wrong for me. 3. 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 added.
“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.
Indian social media users were not happy with Nodirbek refusing to shake hands with Vaishali. Here are a few reactions:
Another user questioned if religion influences sports and noted that Nodirbek had been seen shaking hands with other female players earlier.
After eight rounds at the Tata Steel Chess tournament , Vaishali is in sixth place with 4.5 points in the Challengers section, whereas Nodirbek is placed 10th with four points.
D Gukesh , Nodirbek Abdusattarov and R Praggnanandhaa jointly lead the Masters section.