Criticised for refusing handshake, Uzbek GM Nodirbek Yakubboev offers chocolate, flowers & apology to Vaishali

The 23-year-old reiterated that he regrets the “awkward situation” that arose because of his actions

Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands): Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev offered flowers, chocolate and a personal apology to Indian GM R Vaishali after causing quite a stir by refusing to shake hands with her before their game in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament here, citing “religious reasons”.

Yakubboev met Vaishali, who was accompanied by her younger brother GM R Praggnanandhaa and mother Nagalakshmi, on the sidelines of the ongoing event. The 23-year-old reiterated that he regrets the “awkward situation” that arose because of his actions.

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“I am sorry (about) what happened,” Yakubboev told Vaishali in a video that was shared online by ‘ChessBase India’. Vaishali accepted his apology and assured him that she did not want him to feel bad about what transpired. “It’s clearly understandable. I didn’t take it that way, you don’t have to feel bad,” she responded.

Nonetheless, Yakubboev made it clear that he meant no disrespect.

“…it was an awkward situation for both of us. I was in a hurry that day and really forgot. I want to wish good luck to both of you,” he said.

“You actually apologised, I clearly remember. You said sorry,” Vaishali said.

In a video that went viral earlier this week, Vaishali could be seen extending her hand before the start of a fourth-round game against Yakubboev, who sat down without responding to it.
Yakubboev, who became a GM in 2019, lost that match in the Challengers’ section of the tournament, which is in its 87th edition.

Yakubboev, a practising Muslim, posted a lengthy response on ‘X’ saying, he had all the respect for Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa but he “does not touch other women due to religious reasons.”
However, that claim was ridiculed when an old video of him shaking hands with another Indian player Divya Deshmukh cropped up online. The Uzbek, while responding to it, stated that the exchange with Deshmukh was also wrong.