10-year-old Prodigy Becomes Youngest Female To Defeat A Chess Grandmaster

A 10-year-old British woman is afloat of shocking moves, landing her a spot astatine nan apical of nan chess world successful a historical move of events this week.

Bodhana Sivanandan became nan youngest female subordinate to ever conclusion a chess grandmaster this play astatine nan 2025 British Chess Championships successful Liverpool. Bodhana hit Peter Wells, 60, astatine nan competition's last connected Sunday.

She's astir six months younger than nan American who antecedently held nan grounds successful 2019, according to nan International Chess Federation.

Bodhana is now considered an world maestro of nan game, conscionable 1 rung beneath grandmaster.

Bodhana's unthinkable chess skills person been making headlines for a fewer years. At conscionable 8 years old, she was named nan champion female subordinate astatine nan European Blitz Chess Championship successful Croatia.

The pursuing year, she became nan youngest personification ever to correspond England internationally, according to Sky News. Lawrence Trent, an English chess master, described Bodhana arsenic "one of nan top talents I’ve witnessed successful caller memory."

Bodhana told nan BBC past year that she began playing erstwhile she was 5 during nan Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. A chess group was among a bunch of toys and games a father's friend gave them earlier returning to India, she said.

"I wanted to usage nan pieces arsenic toys," Bodhana said. "Instead, my dada said that I could play nan game, and past I started from there."

Chess, which is recognized arsenic a athletics by nan International Olympic Committee, is nary alien to young prodigies. Last year, 8-year-old Ashwath Kaushik became nan youngest subordinate ever to conclusion a grandmaster.

The grounds was antecedently group by Leonid Ivanovic, who was only 5 months older than Kaushik astatine nan clip of his win.