This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Indian chess star Tania Sachdev. Tania is a two-time Indian Women’s Champion, she was a member of the Indian Women’s team that wrote history when they won gold at the Budapest Olympiad last year, and she is one of the most popular chess commentators in the world. Relying on the broad knowledge and deep insights of the professional, and the unbridled enthusiasm of the true chess fan, Tania can entertain and speak to audiences of all levels.

I interviewed Tania on the final day of Norway Chess, a couple of hours before the prizegiving and closing dinner. For close to two weeks, she had been working in the Chess.com studio in Stavanger alongside fellow commentators Jovanka Houska and David Howell, but, as I had hoped and expected, that did not stop her from being as energetic and passionate as ever as she answered my questions with a stream of stories, memories, observations and thoughts.
We spoke about her family background, her early years as a chess player, her first and later successes and the wonderful journey her life has been so far. When she was winning her first trophies, she belonged to the Indian chess greats who were paving the way for the current incredible chess boom. Last year, at the Olympiad, she crowned her career as a player with the Indian Women’s team as they won the gold medals.

Her debut as a chess commentator Tania made during the World Championship match between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen in Chennai in 2013. She turned out to be a natural, and in recent years she has become one of the most active and proficient commentators on the international circuit.
In our conversation, Tania Sachdev speaks freely about both her experiences as a chess player and a commentator, and comes up with suggestions how the experience for the viewers can be further improved. She also speaks warmly about the unlikely success of her teaming up with Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko as one of the most beloved commentator duos around and why he is such a brilliant colleague. And there is much more.

It was a true pleasure to interview Tania Sachdev and I am sure you’ll have just as much fun listening to it.
Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!

0:00 – Intro

2:31 – Welcome Tania!

3:08 – Why Delhi means so much to Tania

5:55 – Getting to travel for her career

8:08 – Tania’s family background

11:02 – Falling in love with chess and entering competitions

16:48 – How did people react to Tania’s strong performances as a young girl?

19:10 – Tania’s oldest chess friends

21:45 – Did Tania have many doubts about pursuing chess professionally?

25:26 – Winning the Women’s Olympiad with India last year

30:23 – AD BREAK

30:55 – Tania’s commentating career

39:30 – How does Tania commentate boring games?

43:42 – The viral Magnus-Gukesh moment at Norway chess

45:32 – Gukesh’s crushing loss to Fabiano Caruana in Norway

48:30 – The evolution of online chess commentary and chess media

56:20 – Tania asks Dirk Jan about chess journalism back in the day versus now

58:40 – What would Tania like to see in terms of improving chess broadcasts?

1:01:41 – AD BREAK

1:02:41 – Tania advocates for the use of heartrate monitors during big tournaments

1:04:27 – Tania’s incredible commentating chemistry with Peter Leko

1:07:25 – Tania’s part in the Freestyle movement

1:15:15 – Tania recommends some Bollywood music to Dirk Jan

1:16:30 – Outro