In this light‑hearted on‑camera interview recorded at the Global Chess League opening in Bengaluru, popular Indian content creator and comedian Shraddha Jain (known as Aiyyo Shraddha) chats with chess commentator Sagar Shah. Shraddha jokes that Hans Niemann is the “Rakhi Sawant of chess,” using the comparison to highlight his expressive, unconventional style. The conversation weaves through her quirky relationship with chess – she only plays when a dice is involved, invents her own “dice‑rule” and mixes colors for “unity in diversity.” She shares which chess personalities she’d love to meet, favoring Gukesh for his easy‑to‑pronounce name and frequent smiles, and expressing admiration for Koneru Humpy as a childhood idol despite never having played chess seriously. Shraddha also comments on the stoic demeanor of many top players, contrasting it with Niemann’s visible emotions. The interview touches on her content‑creation journey, her desire to try chess commentary, and her comedic vision for making commentary “spicy” and comic‑book‑like. Throughout, the tone remains playful, fan‑oriented, and self‑deprecating, offering a glimpse into how Indian digital creators engage with the chess world, celebrate its stars, and inject humor into a traditionally serious sport.
Chapters
Hans Niemann, हर time कुछ ना कुछ. Like wow! Like एकदम राखी सावन तब चेस.
This is Shraddha Jain, popularly known as Ayush Shraddha, one of India's most loved content creators and comedians. Known for her relatable characters, sharp humor, and distinctly Bengaluru style, Shraddha has built a massive following with her unique take on everyday life. She is here at the Global Chess League in Bengaluru for the opening ceremony, where she had a fun conversation with Sagar Shah around chess, her journey into content creation, and her experiences along the way. Enjoy the video.
I'm here with the very famous Ayo Shraddha. Hello, Shraddha.
Hello. Here we are.
Shraddha, I have to tell you that I didn't know you some years back, and I switched on YouTube, and I saw your video of meeting the Prime Minister.
Yes.
And it was so good, and I hope someday that I could meet you, and finally at the Global Chess League.
Here I am, and by law of association, you have now met the Prime Minister also. That's yeah. A is equal to B, B is equal to C, A is equal to C.
Law of association. Yeah. Come on. That way, I have met the Prime Minister and you met Magnus Carlsen.
So what is your relationship to chess? Do you play chess?
Yeah. Yeah, I play chess only if a dice is involved. Yeah. If you don't give me dice, I don't play because yeah, that's just against my religion. So you basically, if the dice comes six, then yeah, then you move six places. Move anything six places. Any direction. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like that. I don't. There's no bias. Okay, pop pieces. नहीं ये ऐसे चलेगा, वो वैसे चलेगा। नहीं, नहीं, नहीं। And we play red and black and white mix.
अच्छा?
Yeah. So it's not that only white together, only black together.
Only एक से why to make this kind of?
Because yeah, let's please unity in diversity kind of thing. Yeah. And why? वो तो मतलब I have my own rules. अभी सब कैसे explain करूँ? Also you are not experienced enough. Yeah, exactly. Just because you met Magnus Carlsen. Doesn't mean you can understand this game theory.
Yeah. So Shraddha, who would you be interested to meet amongst the chess people? मतलब ऐसे बहुत सारे यहाँ पे great players are here.
Yeah.
So ऐसे ही अगर आपको बोला कि you get to just spend some time with someone.
Yeah.
So would you choose someone?
I would choose Gukesh.
Gukesh?
Yeah. One because his name is easy. बाकी ये chess players के नाम हमेशा इतने complicated क्यों होते हैं मुझे पता नहीं है। Pragnananda how many G's how many N's and how many A's in his name? Am I fear Is I might mispronounce his name. Gukesh is easy, so I'm not gonna go wrong there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And also I have seen Gukesh smile a lot more than others. They just play, no smile, नहीं करते। I don't know why.
Why?
वो world champion बन गया है ना इसके लिए। या कोई भी हो यार they don't smile and all that. Like इतने हमेशा दुखी रहते हैं। जीत गए तो भी नहीं smile करते। So I feel something just are in order.
Like you want to be kind to your opponent who has lost so they don't celebrate.
Chess is the most ruthless game there is. The most ruthless game is chess. मतलब there is absolutely no attachment The player to his pieces, like कभी भी किसी को भी sacrifice कर दो। रानी को तो bindas sacrifice कर दो। रानी queen का तो मतलब nine points है queen, but just sacrifice her bindas, right?
If you're a good player. तुम धीरे-धीरे ऐसे layers निकाल रहे हो तुम्हारा chess का, like sacrifice nine points for the queen.
Yeah, I don't. अभी थोड़े time में बोलोगे you know this Sicilian variation in the Sicilian defense है ये defence. Okay, so please सागर like just because I said Dyson That suddenly you मेरा ऐसा chess का score गया ना negative में I saw that in your face so don't do that please you don't know my sister I don't even want to play chess with you now मैं ऐसा white black mix कर देती हूँ only grey सिर्फ एक छोटा problem हो गया the two names you took they decided not to come to this edition of global chess league okay then I would like to meet That guy Hans. Oh, Hans Niemann.
Yeah.
Are you why?
Why?
No, because he's so insane.
No.
Like he's the only one who shows some expression, some emotion. एक तो Hans Niemann ही है जिसके मतलब कुछ emotion निकलते हैं। बाकि तो if बाकि after the match is over you have to really ask people कौन जीता कौन क्योंकि दोनों same ही लग रहे हैं। Nobody's pumping fist, nobody's doing unless somebody throws a chess piece here there फिर वो तो अलग बवाल हो जाता है। वो एक एक बार देखा था आपने वो कारोले फेंक लिया था किंग को। Unless इतना rare है ये, but Hans Niemann हर time कुछ ना कुछ like wow like एकदम राखी सावन top chess. No really I want to see Hans Niemann is Hans Niemann coming? Don't tell Hans I said this.
Unfortunately Hans Niemann is also not here.
He's also not here? हाँ और एक हो जाए और एक। Please। भाई राखी सावन top chess is too much. Please tell me Conero Hampi is coming. Oh, let's go!
Conero Hampi is here.
Oh my God, yes! Then yes, I want to see her because ऐसे बचपन से ना also I want to tell her मतलब कितना torture हुए हैं हमलोग. Conero Hampi, Conero Hampi को देखो, तुमको देखो, Conero Hampi को देखो, तुमको देखो. So I just want to tell her Conero Hampi, you could have been a little less genius growing up because काफी trauma है हमको.
बोलना है उनको जाके मिलना है.
Yeah. अभी है क्या? Is she here?
चलो ना, let's go. करें?
Okay, I'm I'm gonna I'm not gonna say that.
देखते हैं क्या होता है। कोनेरु हंपी जी is here.
Is she really here?
She's here.
She's here and I think it will be so amazing if you meet her और आप ये बता सकते हो उनको कि ये कोनेरु हंपी has been such a huge like you know look at her, look at you, look at ये बहुत हुआ है हमलोग के बचपन में with कोनेरु हंपी You know you are actually same generation as me.
And humpy and you know like ऐसे। No, I'm a decade younger to him.
Okay, so please don't believe him. कुछ भी बोलते हैं सागर जी आप तो कुछ भी बोलते हैं। I love how she's roasting you.
अरे यार!
You have to meet me ऐसे secretly. Yeah. Let me know how to do that. Yeah, I'll show you how to checkmate him.
अरे!
Yeah, I will.
I will. Okay, okay, okay guys. Koneeru Humpy ji is here.
Yeah. Oh my god! She's here. She's really here.
Humpy, there's someone who wants to meet you.
No, I just wanted to tell you, as much as we love you, I also wanted to know— you to know that growing up, I wish that you are not as good as you are because we constantly got compared to you and, uh, like constantly shown you and said, look at her, look at you, look at her. So we were never enough because of Koneeru Humpy, and I just What a genius and what an idol growing up, honestly. And thank you for everything. Thank you for making us so proud. Thank you for making the country so proud. And you have no idea how much you've been part of our conversations growing up. And this is from a person who never played chess. मतलब I was just telling them I play chess only for dices involved. Otherwise I don't, right? And yet so much about you and we would. Because everyone watched the news, and now nobody watches news. But we watched news, and every time you came up on screen, all of us we have clapped, like really clapped. And she looked at her, and so unassuming, and everything about your personality, the grace with which you've conducted, and just so you always let your work speak in the truest sense. And you know, there was no other talking. So sweet of you. Absolutely. Actually, before I met you, I was complaining about you, and I said, "कोनेरू हंपी." How much we've been compared to her? She should have been a little less genius, but so proud, so grateful. Thank you for doing what you've done for this game. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Of course. No, no, this is Conero Hampi. Don't introduce anyone in front of her. Just Conero Hampi. That's enough. It's just her. Thank you.
She's very well known and she's like a stand-up comedian. Yeah, famous. She has won the—
not today, not today. Yeah, not—
but she's won the National Creator Award and received it from the Prime Minister. Super, congratulations!
Because so much I've been compared to you, no, like we have to do something, something we have to do because कोनेरू हम भी कोनेरू हम भी all the time. But thank you so much, thank you. This is so amazing. And you know, I remember seeing her as a little, you know, as a teenager or even Younger than that, in these full discipline mode. Yes. Yeah. And and then these jackets, hoodies that she used to wear, and you know the curly hair and all. Oh my God! She hasn't really changed.
Wow.
This is what a moment it is to. And back then there was not too much chatting with sports people, and today they are on podcasts and everywhere. So we haven't really heard her talk.
We've only heard. उन्होंने पूरा ऐसे दिल से बात किया था। ऐसे आपने पूरा ऐसे And Humpy.
Yeah, all heart for her. Also because like I said, we have never heard Koneru Humpy as much. We've only heard of her and seen visuals of her with cameras going click click. So it's, it's a very different connection with Koneru Humpy. It's not like we followed her on social media, seen what she has eaten for breakfast, and you know, get ready with me. None of that, which a lot of sportsmen today we see this. There's a lot of surface area with them.
Right.
But with her, my God! Yeah.
Focused.
Yeah, I know. And almost you don't get to see Gondeluaampi like today. Wow!
So, so Shraddha, will you come in one of the games?
ऐसे दस दिन में कभी देखने को ऐसे I of course I'll come, but I think I'll be thrown out because I'm making too much noise. So I'll be like, shut up. This is not क्या कर रही हो wrestling नहीं चल रहा है like it is Like a librarian would go, shh, Shradha, get out. I think that might happen with me. So yeah.
आपने कभी मेरा commentary सुना है?
हाँ? What is a what does a chess commentary like? I have I haven't oh my god this is very interesting. Chess commentary.
You would be such a good commentator if you at some point please do one game commentary.
King to f6, rook to c5. ये यही बोलते रहना पड़ेगा। यार किसी को समझ में ही नहीं आ रहा है कि क्या हो रहा है। ऐसा king पे हमला हो गया है और full ऐसा king war लग गया है। I'm telling you, yeah. So the commentary needs to be a little more spicy. Not spicy, but ऐसे चंपक कॉमिक्स पढ़ा है, चंपक कॉमिक्स में कैसे like you know हाथी हाँ तो जैसे animals are so cute they're all talking and you know so just अगर वो हाथी है तो हाथी बोलो ना ये तुमलोग क्या night रुक फुक बोलके just say हाथी गया आगे घोड़ा आया पीछे और दोनों ने एक दूसरे को मारा और talk like that so I think That's that'll be nice to have commentary like that. Make it fun, guys.
Amazing. As we end this, not everybody is Anand Mahindra ji who's just entered in. Pichhe, Abhidabai, if you can show. So yeah, Shraddha, I am still unsure of your level of chess, but we will let it be. We'll let people guess कि आपका लेवल कितना है? Whether you are like a rated player or you don't know anything. Let's see.
Like Hans Niemann once. Said, chess speaks for itself.
