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Journalism of Courage
Uzbekistan grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev has cleared the air on he refuted to shake hands with Vaishali Rameshbabu in the ongoing Tata Steel chess tournament.
Nodirbek Yakubboev has cited his religious beliefs behind his action. The Uzbekistan grandmaster is currently joint leader of the tournament with world champion D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa.
“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,” Nodirbek Yakubboev wrote 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.”
Nodirbek Yakubboev further explained his stance.
He said: “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.
“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.”
