Girls should compete more against boys: Tania

CHENNAI: The debate over abolishing the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title has its pieces set on opposite squares. While the legendary Judit Polgar has thrown her weight behind it, Indian star Tania Sachdev, a WGM herself, believes there’s no need to take away such titles as they encourage many young girls.

“I don’t think I’m particularly against the women’s titles, but I do feel young girls should play in as many open tournaments as possible. They should train with boys, compete against them and not focus just on women’s tournaments. There is no need to take away women’s titles because those encourage young girls to take up the sport,” said Tania, who is commentating at the Chennai Grand Masters event, on Tuesday.

While seeing the case for a change in the bigger picture, Tania, who also has the International Master (IM) title, mentioned it should be a ‘slower transition’. “I get it in the long run, there is something to be said for that, but I think it will take away an entire generation of chess players. So maybe you have to make that into a slower transition. I also feel that young girls playing only women’s tournaments can kind of limit their potential.”

Tania feels the shift towards girls competing more in open events is already seen, a stark contrast from her playing days. The 38-year-old from Delhi said: “The more girls do it (competing in open tournaments), the more comfortable it gets. This change in thought process is already happening, compared to even five years ago. In my time, that was not even a question; there were barely any open tournaments. Now, the younger generation is of this mindset that they want to compete with the boys. It’s slowly going in the right direction.”

‘Women aren’t lagging behind’: Teenager Divya Deshmukh’s recent Women’s World Cup victory over her senior Koneru Humpy has given fresh impetus to women’s chess in India. Tania said the victory made it clear women aren’t lagging behind in this shining era of Indian chess.

“To see both Humpy and Divya taking part in the Candidates will be a big moment for Indian chess fans. Having two Indians from different generations in the final, it’s just so inspirational. I think the girls are also proving that they’re not going to be left behind in this golden generation,” said Tania.

Regarding her own playing career, Tania said she still has some chess left in her but now relishes commentating more. “I love commentary. I feel like I don’t love playing as much as I used to, but I still love the game just as much. I still want to play a little..maybe one or two tournaments a year but I’m shifting pretty much full-time towards commentary,” said Tania, who last competed at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, where India won a historic gold.