Curious Handshake Rejection at Tata Steel

A clip of Vaishali Rameshbabu being rejected of a handshake from Nodirbek Yakkuboev at the start of their Round 4 game is surfacing the internet.

This incident came to light when the full video of this upset game played between Vaishali and Nodirbek was uploaded on YouTube by ChessBase India. In the clip, Nodirbek can be seen arriving late to the board when his opponent, i.e., Vaishali, offers him a handshake which Nodirbek rejects by showing his left hand. Fans also noticed that the Uzbek didn’t offer one himself when he declared his resignation after finding himself in a lost position.

Questions are being asked by influential chess players on social media and the viewers are coming up with different theories, the most popular being “religion”. The incident has not been addressed by any of the players involved yet but many people suspect that Nodirbek’s religion doesn’t permit men shaking hands with women. This theory is being countered by the following image of Nodirbek shaking hands with IM Divya Deshmukh at Abu Dhabi Blitz 2023.

Questions are being raised for Nodirbek and

While many are criticizing Nodirbek for a quote-unquote “rude” attitude towards his opponent and violation of FIDE’s Ethics code, some people are siding by the Uzbek in the matter.

In a press release on Behavioral Norms of players, FIDE has stated, “Any player who does not shake hands with the opponent (or greets the opponent in a normal social manner in accordance with the conventional rules of their society) before the game starts in a FIDE tournament or during a FIDE match (and does not do it after being asked to do so by the arbiter) or deliberately insults his/her opponent or the officials of the event, will immediately and finally lose the relevant game.”

It remains to be seen if one of the players are asked about the incident or if there is an intervention by FIDE Ethics Commission.