10-Year-Old Chess Prodigy Sets New Record After Defeating Grandmaster
Bodhana Sivanandan became the youngest female chess player to defeat a Grandmaster after taking down Peter Wells earlier this month.
Sivanandan, 10, broke the record previously set by Carissa Yip in 2014. While Yip was also just 10 years old when she defeated Alexander Ivanov at the New England Open.
However, according to the International Chess Federation, Sivanandan was six months and 17 days younger than Yip was at the time.
????????♟???? British sensation Bodhana Sivanandan has made history by becoming the youngest female chess player ever to beat a grandmaster!
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 11, 2025
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… pic.twitter.com/bAMqeyFZHm
"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," she told BBC in 2024. "And in one of the bags, I saw a chessboard, and I was interested in the pieces."
She added, "I wanted to use the pieces as toys. Instead, my dad said that I could play the game, and then I started from there."
According to her father, Siva, it's unclear where his daughter gets her skills.
"I try to trace down whether any of my cousins or anyone plays - nobody has any chess energy or chess-playing skills, no one played for any chess events," he said. "Overall we are happy with whatever is happening. Hopefully she enjoys, plays well and performs."
After defeating Wells in the last round of the 2025 British Chess Championships, Sivanandan received the title "Woman International Master." Her new title is second-highest woman only title, behind Woman Grandmaster.