10-Year-Old Bodhana Sivanandan Stuns Chess Grandmaster

Photo:@FIDE_chess

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – A 10-year-old chess prodigy from London has etched her name into history, becoming the youngest female player ever to defeat a grandmaster.

Bodhana Sivanandan, just 10 years and five months old, pulled off the remarkable feat by toppling 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells during the final round of this year’s British Chess Championships in Liverpool.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE), the global governing body of the sport, hailed the achievement in a celebratory post:

“British sensation Bodhana Sivanandan has made history by becoming the youngest female chess player ever to beat a grandmaster!”

FIDE added that her victory narrowly beat the previous record set in 2019 by American Carissa Yip, who was 10 years, 11 months, and 20 days old at the time.

For Sivanandan, the win brings more than just headlines. She has now earned the title of Woman International Master (WIM) — the second-highest title awarded exclusively to women, just below Woman Grandmaster.

This is not her first brush with history. In 2023, Sivanandan became the youngest person ever chosen to represent England internationally in any sport. At the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, she played alongside teammates decades older — many in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

Malcolm Pein, manager of the England chess team, told the media, “Bodhana is one of the most remarkable British chess prodigies I have ever seen.”