Bodhana Sivanandan, the 10-year-old chess prodigy from London, has created history by beating a Grandmaster to become the youngest female chess player ever at the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool.
The 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells lost to Sivanandan in the last round of the game. By this win, Sivanandan has broken the 2019 record thus far held by American Carissa Yip, who is 10 years, 11 months and 20 days. Sivanandan, originally from Tamil Nadu, India, is 10 years, five months and three days old at the time of this win.
Five years ago, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sivanandam brought home a chess set that her father’s friend was about to throw away. She intended to donate to charity but eventually began to explore the game for herself. Soon after, she was watching chess videos on YouTube and playing online too.
Sivanandan wants to become a Grandmaster and certainly the women’s world champion. Today, this little girl from north-west London is the youngest to earn the woman international master title. – editor@nrifocus.com
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