8/4/2016 – The Thyagaraj Sports complex in New Delhi witnessed a jam packed crowd on 25th of July 2016. The reason? It was the game between Dabang Delhi and Patna Pirates at the Pro Kabaddi League 2016. But what on earth is the connection to chess? India's very own International Master Tania Sachdev was at the venue and sung the national anthem before the start of the game. A proud moment for every Indian chess player.
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Tania Sachdev sings the National Anthem
By Sagar Shah
On the last day of the Maharashtra Chess League 2016 all the players of the RBS Ahmednagar Checkers team met at the JW Marriott for the farewell dinner. The players included GM Shardul Gagare, IM Tania Sachdev, IM Sagar Shah, WGM Bhakti Kulkarni, Shashikant Kutwal and Pawan Dodeja. We had some very interesting chats with the team owners Siddharth Mayur and Dhaval Shah.
The Ahmednagar Checkers team at JW Marriott Hotel
At that moment Tania asked the team owners, "What is it that attracts you to sports?" Siddharth Mayur, who has been an ex-national hockey player, thought for a while and said, "You know the feeling of being on the ground and listening to the national anthem. It's an unparalleled feeling. Just the thought of it gives me goosebumps!" While all of us nodded in agreement, little did we know that one amongst us would be actually singing the national anthem in front of a huge audience just a few days later!
Tania Sachdev, who has been a former National as well as Asian Champion, has made the country proud many times with her chess exploits. Thanks to her achievements the national anthem has been played on numerous ocassions at various events. But to sing the national anthem, that too in front of a packed crowd - this is definitely something new for any sports player!
Tania Sachdev singing the National Anthem before the start of the Pro Kabaddi League
As Siddharth said, goosebumps is the right word!
Check out the one minute video of Tania singing the National Anthem on Hotstar Channel:
Kabaddi
Okay, you want to know what in the world the sport of Kabaddi is. It is a contact sport that originated in ancient India. Two teams of seven members each take turns sending a "raider" into the other half occupied by the other team. To win a point, the raider must take a breath, run into the opposing half, tag one or more members of the opposite team, then return to his home half before inhaling again. Seriously! The raider must chant "kabaddi, kabaddi" with his exhaling breath to show the referee he has not inhaled. Really! But why the verbal explanation? Here's a great and visually exciting video description, definitely worth five minutes of your time.
To Tania we can say: keep up the good work! The entire Indian chess fraternity is proud of you! And yeah she is not so bad at Kabaddi as well! Check out this video of Tania playing dizzy Kabaddi!
In this version the raider has to spin around until he or she is completely dizzy, before going to the other side to tag an opponent. How boring is football or tennis?!
Tania Sachdev achieved her first international title already when she was just eight years old and after that won multiple events like U12 Indian championship, Asian U14 Junior Championship and Senior Championship. In 2005 Tania became the eighth Indian Women Grandmaster. She won the national Indian Women Championship in 2006 and 2007 and the Asian Chess Championship 2008. To the chagrin of many chess fans Tania is happily married.
Sagar ShahSagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
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In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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