Women chess players in India have a long way to go
Friday, Apr 26, 2013, 8:00 IST | Place: Pune | Agency: DNA
Ashish Phadnis
Historically, chess has been considered a men’s game.
Historically, chess has been considered a men’s game. In India, where the game was born, it was seen as a war game that had no place for women. So a queen couldn’t be on the board. After several decades, in the late 1980s, women started considering the game as a profession.
However, in India, owing to social reasons, fewer girls play chess and even fewer play professionally.
International Master Tania Sachdev believes chess federations need to make an effort to change the scenario. Where Indian women chess players are concerned, she says, “There is long way to go for women in India. It’s much easier in Europe or even in countries like China and Russia to play professionally. However, things are different here. When our women get into domestic responsibilities, they tend to drop out. That’s doesn’t happen in Europe.”
So what’s the way forward? “Organising more women tournaments, increasing prize money, improving playing conditions and mainly motivating the women players should be the priority,” she says.
The 26-year-old might be the right person to talk about motivation. Even after winning the individual bronze in the Chess Olympiad last year, her efforts were hardly acknowledged.
“It was quite sad. We had worked hard. The same performance would have been rewarded in many European countries,” says Tania, who will be heading to the European circuit in a bid to bag her second Grandmaster norm.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com
She’s the real deal. She should definitely think about moving to a European federation. She’s in her prime.
People who try to dismantle cultural roadblocks end up growing old waiting for change to happen. They don’t benefit; the next generation does.
Tania Sachdev is an Indian chess player, who holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In 2005, she became the eighth Indian Woman Grandmaster, won the national Indian Women Championship in 2006 and 2007 and topped the Asian Chess Championship in 2008.