Meet Bodhana Sivanandan! 10-year-old is youngest girl to defeat a chess Grandmaster
(Courtesy : @FIDE_Chess/Twitter)
Bodhana Sivanandan surpassed the record set by American Carissa Yip in 2019.
At just 10 years, 5 months, and 3 days old, Bodhana Sivanandan has written her name in bold letters into chess history, becoming the youngest girl in the world to defeat a Grandmaster.
Her historic win came in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championship in Liverpool, where she stunned the 60-year-old Grand Master Peter Wells.
Born on March 7, 2015, Bodhana is an English chess prodigy of Indian Tamil descent. She first discovered the game during the Covid-19 lockdown at the age of five. And it all started with stumbling upon a chessboard in a bag of belongings a family friend had given them before returning to India.
Speaking to the Indian Express in 2024, Bodhana’s father Sivanandan Velayutham had shared, “Bodhana started playing chess when she was just five years old. We had no plans to make her play chess. She just stumbled across a chess board at home and started to play.”
“I knew just basic chess, so I downloaded Chess.com to help her learn by watching the videos there. Back then, I just got her a free version, thinking she might not continue the sport,” he added.
“I was interested in the pieces, so I started playing,” Bodhana Sivanandan told the BBC.
The rise of the wonder kid had been nothing short of remarkable. In 2024, she earned the Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title. Just a year later, in July 2025, she became the youngest chess player in history to achieve a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm, breaking a 20-year-old record set by Chinese legend Hou Yifan.
Also Read: Meet Aarini Lahoty, youngest Indian girl to earn FIDE chess rating
Bodhana Sivanandan was also selected in 2024 to represent England at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, becoming the youngest player ever to join a full England team in any sport.
Her victory at the British Chess Championships breaks the previous record for the youngest girl to defeat a Grandmaster, set by International Master Carissa Yip in 2019 when she beat GM Alexander Ivanov at 10 years, 11 months, and 20 days old.
Who is the youngest girl chess player to defeat a Grandmaster?
The record is held by Bodhana Sivanandan. She was 10 years, 5 months and 3 days old when she achieved this milestone. She defeated Peter Wells at the 2025 British Chess Championships to achieve this record.
Who held the previous record?
The previous record was held by International Master Carissa Yip, who in 2019 defeated GM Alexander Ivanov at the age of 10 years, 11 months, and 20 days.
Who is Bodhana Sivanandan?
Born on March 7, 2015, Bodhana is an English chess prodigy of Indian Tamil descent. She first discovered the game during the Covid-19 lockdown at the age of five.
For her, it all started with stumbling upon a chessboard in a bag of belongings a family friend had given them before returning to India.
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Uzma Fatima is a passionate sports journalist who believes every match has a story waiting to be told. Whether it's the grace of Olympic champions, the grit of tennis and badminton battles, or the drama of cricket’s highs and heartbreaks — she loves capturing the emotion behind the action. Off the field, she’s a Formula 1 enthusiast who never misses a race weekend.
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