Ukrainian chess player Mariia Muzychuk has refused to shake hands with Russian player Valentina Gunina before their second-round game at the Grand Swiss in Samarkand.

Source: Champion, a sports news platform within Ukrainska Pravda’s holding company, with reference to Gunina on Telegram

Quote from Gunina: “She did not shake my hand. Anna Shukhman and I discussed it before the round, although nothing like this was mentioned at the technical meeting.”

Details: The Ukrainian managed to defeat the five-time Russian champion and three-time European champion.

“In a big duel of the round, former World Champion Mariia Muzychuk defeated the seasoned player from Moscow, Valentina Gunina. The position was even until the early stage of the middlegame where Gunina blundered and from then on everything went downhill for her. A swift and convincing comeback by Mariia against a strong player is what she needed after losing on day one,” the International Chess Federation reported on the match.

According to Russian media reports, Ukrainian Andrii Volokitin and Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi also did not shake hands on the first day of the tournament. The players simply signed the game protocol and their match ended in a draw.

Previously: The Grand Swiss tournament began on 4 September and will run until 16 September. The open championship features 116 players, while the women’s section has 56. The total prize fund is between US$855,000 and US$625,000 for the open championship and US$230,000 for the women’s tournament.

Currently, the highest-ranked Ukrainian is Yurii Kuzubov, who has 1.5 points and is in 12th place. Among the women, Mariia Muzychuk has 1 point and is in 27th place.

Background: Recently, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh won the Chess World Cup.

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