Hyderabad: She was just six years old when she started playing chess. And barely three years later, Tania Sachdev was representing India at the international level. Having come a long way since then, she is not only one of the best chess players in the world, but is also one of the most popular sportswomen in India. After all, who doesn’t appreciate beauty with brains? Now a Woman Grandmaster, Asian Women’s Chess Champion and a Red Bull athlete, Tania shares her journey.
“When I started playing chess, it was just a hobby. Just like I had dance and singing classes, I learned chess too. At that age, I was too young to understand anything much about working hard or making it a career, I always found the game quite intriguing. My parents saw that I was picking it up very fast, so they encouraged it. And three-and-a-half years later, I was representing India in the Under-10 World Championship,” she says.
From hobby to a profession, it was a very slow transition for Tania. “I don’t even think I really got a chance to make it my career. It was just something that grew into my life,” she adds.
By the time Tania graduated from school, she was so involved in chess, and the lifestyle that came with it, that academic life seemed a little mundane to her. She was travelling all over the world, representing her nation; what more could she ask for? “Also, I had a very strong liking for the game, the calculation, the thinking and the strategy part of it. So I kept on playing. And now it’s been 20 years since I’ve been playing,” she says.
But what was that one moment when she knew that chess was all she wanted to do? She answers, “I distinctly remember that moment. I was 16-years-old and I was playing in the Asian Sub-Junior Championship, where I won the gold. It was a truly defining moment for me as I walked up to get the gold as the national anthem of India played. Having that feeling and seeing all the people rise to our national anthem, it was a great experience. And I was old enough to realise that I want this.”
Off the game, Tania claims that she is just like any other normal girl who loves to spend time with family, and friends, watching movies and eating out. "I'm more of a home body than someone who goes out a lot. But I am a complete foodie. So the only time that I am really open to going out is when it's to go for dinner. In Delhi, I must have tried every restaurant possible. At home, I just love to curl up in bed and read a book. That is my favourite way to spend a good evening. I just finished reading Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also watch a lot of TV shows, and currently I am loving Game of Thrones. After a heavy day of training, you just want some good food and and something good on TV. That's how I spend my evenings," she says.
Of all the achievements in her career, Tania says that she cherishes the Arjuna Award the most. “Of course you remember the tournaments and titles you won, but the Arjuna Award is my biggest achievement. The way your country recognises the hard work, there’s no better reward. Plus, I know it really made my family happy,” she quips.
Tania feels that while there is still a long way to go for people to see chess as an alternative way of life, it has come a long way since she started playing, especially when it comes to woman players. “When I played in inter-school competitions, I used to be the only girl chess player doing it. And now, we have enough players to have exclusive events just for girls. Recently, I was a part of Red Bull Battle for the Queen, where they had this competition in four cities where the winner gets to play a game of chess with me. And each city saw over 200 participants each. That won’t have happened, say 15-20 years ago. As a chess player, it was really great to see that,” she says.
Bronze medal winner at the recently concluded Commonwealth Chess Championship, Tania believes that she has learned everything from chess, and now she wants to give back to the sport.
“Having travelled overseas to play and having seen the standard of the game there, I wish to do my best to promote chess in my own country. And nowdays, when parents come to me and tell me that they want their daughters to play chess just like me, it makes me want it all the more to encourage young boys and girls to play, if not at a professional level, then just as a hobby,” she says.
While Tania has a lot of other hobbies and interests, chess is the only thing she feels passionate about, and can’t imagine her life without it. “Even if I stop playing chess on a professional level, I know that I will always be associated with the game,” she ends.
