Who is Bodhana Sivanandan? All you need to know about Indian-origin chess player

Bodhana Sivanandan defeated 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells recently.

At just ten years old, Bodhana Sivanandan has become one of the brightest names in British chess. She achieved a big feat that no other young player had done before.

The girl from Harrow defeated 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool, becoming the youngest female player in history to beat a grandmaster.

The record that made history

The International Chess Federation confirmed the moment with a message on X, formerly Twitter.

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

The 10-year-old, from Harrow, pulled off the win on Sunday against 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool.”

FIDE also shared the exact details of the record in its post. “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).”

The result also earned her the official title of Woman International Master, the second-highest female-only title in chess, just below Woman Grandmaster.

ALSO READ: Meet Bodhana Sivanandan! 10-year-old is youngest girl to defeat a chess Grandmaster

A rise that few could have predicted

In 2024, Bodhana was already in the headlines when she represented England in the Chess Olympiad in Hungary, where she was widely believed to be the youngest person ever to represent the country in any sport.

Her father, Siva, admitted that her talent for sports did not come from family background. He told the BBC: “I tried to trace whether any of my cousins or relatives played — but nobody has any chess-playing skills, and no one ever played in chess events.”

He added, “Overall, we are happy with whatever is happening. Hopefully she enjoys, plays well, and performs.”

A love that started by chance

Her entry into chess happened coincidentally during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was only five years old.

She told the BBC about that moment. “When it was 2020, it was Covid, so one of my dad’s friends was going back to India, and he had a few toys and books, and he gave them to us.

And in one of the bags, I saw a chessboard, and I was interested in the pieces. I wanted to use the pieces as toys. Instead, my dad said that I could play the game, and then I started from there.”

Later, she explained how chess makes her feel good, saying, “It helps me with lots of other things like maths, how to calculate.”

Indian roots and future dreams

Bodhana’s family traces its origins to Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, although she was born in London after her parents moved there in 2007.

Her father is an IT professional, and her mother is an engineering graduate, but neither of them had ever played chess before their daughter discovered the game. She has already shared her dream for the future and said that she wants to become a Grandmaster.

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