- 10-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan is the youngest female to defeat a grandmaster in chess
- She beat Grandmaster Peter Wells at the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool
- Sivanandan broke the previous record held by Carissa Yip, beating it by six months
A 10-year-old, Indian-origin chess prodigy from London has become the youngest female player ever to defeat a grandmaster. Bodhana Sivanandan achieved the highest distinction any chess player can earn by beating 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells during the final round of this year's British Chess Championships in Liverpool.
According to the International Chess Federation (ICF), which governs the sport of chess, Sivanandan beat the record held by the USA's Carissa Yip.
"British sensation Bodhana Sivanandan has made history by becoming the youngest female chess player ever to beat a grandmaster!" the ICF said in a 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)."
After the win, Sivanandan has earned a new title, the woman international master, which is the second-highest-ranking title given exclusively to women, second only to woman grandmaster.
Social media users were in awe of Sivanandan's achievement and hoped that she may continue to break new records in the future.
"Amazing achievement, what a star!" said one user, while another added: "10 years old and already beating grandmasters… unreal! Huge congrats to Bodhana, the future is bright!"
A third commented: "She has a bright future ahead of her, considering she's now ranked alongside names like Pragg and Keymer in the list of players who beat their first GM of a similar age."
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Sivanandan at Chess Olympiad
Last year, Sivanandan became the youngest person selected to represent England internationally in any sport. She was selected to represent the country at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, where all her teammates were in their 20s, 30s or 40s.
Malcolm Pein, manager of the England chess team, described the schoolgirl as one of the most remarkable British chess prodigies he has ever seen.
She was also among a group of young chess enthusiasts who were invited by then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to 10 Downing Street to mark the government's major new GBP 1 million investment package for the game.
