Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old chess prodigy from north-west London, has just made history and sent shockwaves through the world of chess. On August 10, 2025, at the British Chess Championships in Liverpool, Bodhana defeated 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells, becoming the youngest female player ever to beat a grandmaster. If you're wondering how big a deal this is, consider this: the previous record, held by American Carissa Yip, stood at 10 years and 11 months. Bodhana smashed it at 10 years, five months, and three days.
Her victory over Wells, a seasoned grandmaster, wasn’t just a personal triumph—it was a landmark moment for British chess and for girls everywhere who dream of making their mark in a sport long dominated by men. The International Chess Federation celebrated her achievement on social media, noting, "Sivanandan's victory at 10 years, five months and three days beats the 2019 record held by American Carissa Yip (10 years, 11 months and 20 days)."
This wasn’t just a one-off win. Bodhana’s performance at the championship earned her the final norm she needed to secure the Woman International Master (WIM) title, the second-highest title awarded exclusively to women—just one step below Woman Grandmaster. According to the BBC, she is the youngest person to ever earn this title. She also gained 24 rating points in the process and finished joint 26th in the open event, an astonishing feat for someone so young competing against seasoned veterans.
Bodhana’s journey to chess stardom started in the most unexpected way. During the COVID-19 lockdown, when she was just five, a friend of her father’s gave her family a bag of toys and books before returning to India. Tucked away in that bag was a chessboard. "I wanted to use the pieces as toys. Instead, my dad said that I could play the game, and then I started from there," Bodhana told the BBC. Her father, Sivanandan Velayutham—an engineering graduate originally from Tamil Nadu, India—confessed, "Nobody at all in my family was proficient at chess before my daughter took up the game."
Initially, Sivanandan knew only the basics of chess. He downloaded instructional videos from Chess.com, thinking Bodhana might lose interest. But she was hooked. Her natural talent blossomed, and soon enough, she was making headlines and racking up junior world titles—three so far. By 2024, Bodhana had become the youngest person ever to represent England internationally in any sport, when she was selected for the England Women's Team at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary.
Her accomplishments have not gone unnoticed at the highest levels. In August 2023, she was invited to 10 Downing Street by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as the government announced a new financial package for chess in the UK. Bodhana, often seen at tournaments with a small bindi and a streak of vibhuti on her forehead, has become a symbol of calm and focus at the board. She sometimes carries a cushioned seat to prop herself up, making sure she can see the action on the other side of the board.
But what truly sets Bodhana apart is her style of play. She’s a positional player with an uncanny ability to outmaneuver her opponents in the endgame—a skill reminiscent of her chess idol José Raúl Capablanca. "I really like Capablanca because of his end games," she told The Indian Express. "I also like Judit Polgar and Carlsen." Her approach is simple and solid, yet she has a knack for finding resources when the chips are down. In her game against Wells, she was in deep trouble by the 19th move, with both of Wells’ knights swarming around her king. By move 37, she was staring at defeat. But then, in a flurry of tactical brilliance—a careless knight move from Wells, a bold rook maneuver from Bodhana, and a questionable queen shuffle—she seized the initiative and forced Wells to resign.
English Chess Federation expert commentator Danny Gormally, watching the drama unfold live, exclaimed, "How on earth did she win this? She must be some kind of magician!" Later, Gormally added, "She likes to play simple positional moves… very solid player. But she tends to outplay her opponents later in the game. There’s a touch of Magnus Carlsen or the great Jose Raul Capablanca about her play."
Despite her meteoric rise, Bodhana remains humble and reserved. She speaks in short, direct sentences, letting her chess do most of the talking. When asked what she enjoys about the game, she said, "I really like that it activates your brain and that it involves strategy and calculation." She’s also musically inclined, having learned piano and violin, but chess is her true passion. "I like chess more than playing the piano and violin because there’s no grading in piano and in chess you can keep improving."
Her father, Siva, is just as amazed as anyone by her progress. "Overall we are happy with whatever is happening. Hopefully she enjoys, plays well and performs," he told the BBC. The family’s move from Tamil Nadu to London in 2007 set the stage for Bodhana’s unlikely journey, but her relentless work ethic and love for the game have brought her to the cusp of greatness.
Bodhana’s achievements are inspiring a new generation of girls to take up chess. Malcolm Payne, an international chess master and charity leader, remarked, "She's so composed, she's so modest and yet she's so absolutely brilliant at chess. She could easily become the women's world champion, or maybe the overall world champion. And certainly I believe that she's on course to become a grandmaster." Fide Master Tim Wall, Director of Junior Chess at the English Chess Federation, echoed that optimism, predicting she could reach grandmaster status in three to four years—a meteoric rise even by chess’s fast-moving standards.
For now, Bodhana’s name is on everyone’s lips in the chess world. Her record-breaking victory and rapid ascent through the ranks are proof that talent, hard work, and a dash of serendipity can combine to produce something truly special. As she sets her sights on becoming a grandmaster, the world will be watching—wondering what magic she’ll conjure up next.
