Chess player Soumya Swaminathan has been left a bit shaken by the storm triggered by her pullout from a tournament in Iran over the issue of compulsory headscarf but remains firm in her belief that religious diktats should not extend beyond places of worship.

The woman grandmaster, who is also a former junior world champion, opted out of the Asian Team Chess championship after she found out about the organisers' instruction of 'compulsory headscarf'.