NEW DELHI: Hungarian-American chess grandmaster Susan Polgar criticized Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev after he refused to shake hands with Indian GM R Vaishali during the 2025 Tata Steel Chess tournament in the Netherlands.
Yakubboev cited “religious reasons” for his decision, but Polgar challenged his stance by sharing a photo on social media showing him shaking hands with India’s Divya Deshmukh during the 29th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival in 2023.
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“What is the difference?” Polgar questioned while tagging ChessBase India’s official handle.
She further elaborated on her stance, stating that Yakubboev could have informed tournament officials or the female players in advance about his decision to avoid handshakes.
“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 organisers, 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.
WHY NODIRBEK DIDN’T SHAKE HANDS WITH VAISHALI
Nodirbek also addressed the issue on social media, explaining his reason for not shaking hands with Vaishali and apologising 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”.
“I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behavior, I apologize,” added Nodirbek.
“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.
