A swarm of selfie talkers and autograph seekers excitedly surround a man in the orange Hawaiian shirt one evening at Resort Rio, the venue for the FIDE World Cup. He’s not a grandmaster. At least yet. But International Master Sagar Shah, courtesy of his daily live streams, is fast becoming the voice and face of the sport, at least on YouTube. While Shah signs autographs before hurrying away to re-join the broadcast studio, a bona fide grandmaster, one of India’s top ones, walks quietly past the gaggle of fans unnoticed.
Such is the nature of chess these days that commentators have become as big, if not bigger, than many elite chess players. Shah is not the only one getting mobbed for autographs and selfies. Tania Sachdev, who transitioned to commentary a few years back and is the face of the Chess.com India commentary panel, is also a much sought-after name. Chess Base India and Chess.com have joined forces to look after the streaming of the Goa Chess World Cup.
Shah’s journey evolved from being a player to travelling with his wife and writing Facebook posts and blogs, an endeavour that gave birth to ChessBase India. Inspired by chess writer Peter Doggers, Shah began producing recorded video interviews, which eventually became a popular medium for following chess events in India.
Samay Raina help
Encouraged by positive feedback, Shah doubled down on YouTube and soon realised there was much more to explore beyond recorded content. Live streams began attracting large audiences, but a suggestion from comedian Samay Raina truly changed the game.
ChessBase India’s Sagar Shah signs autographs on chess boards at Resort Rio on Arpora, Goa. (Express Photos by Amit Kamath)
“When the pandemic hit, and live streaming became even more important,” Shah recalls.“Samay introduced the idea that you can do things live in chess. It’s a sport, and sports are meant to be followed live, not just through recorded content.”
He adds, “When Samay understands the common audience much better than I do, not just chess players, but those who don’t usually follow the game.”
That became the roadmap of chess coverage for others as well.
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While the goal is always to reach a wider audience, Shah notes they also strive to cater to chess enthusiasts. That’s why Grandmasters like Sahaj Grover and Harshit Raja, along with host-expert Tania, are regulars on ChessBase India’s streams.
What began as a backpacking journey for Shah has now grown into a team of over 25 members, with seven on the ground in Goa covering the World Cup. With more than 15 mobile phones, just as many tripods, and the energy of a small army, the team is committed to delivering chess content to the public.
Winning Olympiad to commentary
“The commentary hours are very long. Often the players will finish, but the commentators have to go on for a while,” says Tania, who was part of the Indian Olympiad gold medal-winning team in Budapest last year.
Ask Tania if being a commentator requires more prep than playing chess, and she says: “It’s a different kind of prep. With chess openings, what has happened is that no matter how much prep you have done as a grandmaster on the day of the game, you are likely to be surprised on the board. It’s easier to prepare for commentary than for playing. But it’s longer hours. You need to look up players’ repertoires, what their preferred openings are.”
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Tania talks about one particularly long day during the Freestyle Chess event in Vegas, where she was in the studio for over 10 hours with just a 15-minute break in the middle for lunch. “But when chess is exciting, you get so much energy from the action,” she says.
While following the official FIDE commentary can feel like watching a different sport altogether, the distinction lies in their core objectives. Platforms like ChessBase India aim to bring the game to a mass audience, while FIDE commentators focus on breaking down complex positions for a niche, chess-literate viewership.
Simplifying intricate subjects might sound tedious, but commentator Jan Gustafsson believes a large audience appreciates the effort from experts like Peter Leko and Peter Svidler. “I used to think these shows were way too complicated for anyone to follow,” Gustafsson admits. “But I’ve noticed that when masters like Leko or Svidler explain very complicated stuff, people appreciate it. Even if not everybody understands everything, they can still take something away from it.”
In contrast, the ChessBase India broadcast features good-natured personal jibes, jokes, and even the occasional shayari (poetry), all in an attempt to build a community. Although some purists dislike injecting entertainment into a serious sport, Gustafsson sees room for both approaches.
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He suggests a third role: the entertainer. “You can call it a clown, which not everybody likes, but it’s my preferred role,” he says. “Often, people get upset and say, ‘Come on, please talk about the games, stop with the stupid jokes.’ Everybody has different preferences, and every format is different. There is not one particular way to do it.”
