‘I love other women’, Uzbek player did not shake hands with Indian chess player, apologized – uzbek chess player Nodirbek Yakubboev refuses to shake hand with Indian player r caishali apologized later Tata Steel Chess Tournament tspoa

A new controversy has arisen in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament being played in Wijk on Zee, Netherlands. At the center of this controversy is Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakuboev of Uzbekistan. Yakuboev met Indian Grandmaster R. before his fourth tour match. Refused to shake hands with Vaishali. Chess players shake hands or at least say hello before the match, but the Uzbek player did not do so.

Yakuboev gave clarification

When its video went viral on social media, Nodirbek Yakuboev gave clarification. He also apologized to Vaishali. The Uzbek player said that he does not touch other women for religious reasons. The Uzbek player had done something similar during his match with Divya Deshmukh in the year 2023.

Nodirbek Yakuboev wrote on X, ‘Dear chess friends, I want to tell you about the situation that happened in the game with Vaishali. There is full respect towards women and Indian chess players. I would like to inform everyone that I do not touch other women for religious reasons.

He further said, ‘I respect Vaishali and her brother as India’s strongest chess players. If my behavior has hurt them, I apologize. I have some additional clarifications: 1. Chess is not haram.

“2. Whatever I did earlier (playing with Divya in 2023 and other similar matters), I consider it wrong for me.”

“3. I do what I’m supposed to do. I don’t urge others not to shake hands with the opposite gender. I don’t urge women to wear hijab or burqa. It’s their business what they do .”

Nodirbek Yakuboev further wrote, ‘Today I told Irina Bulmaga (Romanian chess player) about this. She agreed to this. But when I came to the sports hall, the judges told me that I should at least say Namaste. “Couldn’t tell them about it before the competition with Divya and Vaishali and it created an awkward situation.”

Also read: Story of Grandmaster R Praggnanand… Learned Chess by watching his sister

Vaishali won

23-year-old Nodirbek Yakuboev, who became a Grandmaster in 2019, lost the match and has three points after eight rounds in the Challengers category. Vaishali did not raise her hand after defeating the Uzbekistan player. After eight rounds the Indian player has four points. Five more rounds are left to be played in the competition.

Let us tell you that R. Vaishali is the sister of Indian chess player Rameshbabu Praggnanandha. Praggnanand is about 3 years younger than his sister. Influenced by Vaishali, R Praggnanand made chess a part of his life at the age of just three years. The special thing is that elder sister Vaishali was taught this game so that she could spend less time watching cartoons on TV.