The chess world witnessed history in Liverpool this week when 10-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan defeated Grandmaster Peter Wells, 60, during the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championship. With that win, she officially became the youngest player ever to beat a grandmaster in classical chess.
Bodhana Sivandan Makes History by Defeating a Grandmaster
According to the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Bodhana was just 10 years, 5 months, and 3 days old when she achieved the milestone, surpassing the previous record held by Carissa Yip, who managed the feat at 10 years and 11 months in 2019.
Her incredible achievement drew immediate praise from the global chess community. FIDE publicly celebrated the victory, calling it a landmark moment in chess history.
Bodhana’s journey into the game began unexpectedly during the COVID-19 lockdown, when a friend of her father gave her a chess set as a toy. “They wanted me to use the pieces as toys,” she recalled, “but my dad told me to actually play.” That spark quickly grew into a passion that now sees her competing — and winning — on the international stage.
This isn’t Bodhana’s first brush with history. Earlier this year, at just 10 years and 3 months, she became the youngest player to achieve a performance norm for the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title during a tournament in Aix-en-Provence, surpassing benchmarks once set by legendary players like Judit Polgár.
She already holds multiple youth world titles in rapid, blitz, and classical formats, represented England at the 2024 Chess Olympiad as the country’s youngest competitor, and currently boasts an Elo rating of 2216.
Her rapid rise has ignited speculation about her future: could she become one of the greatest female chess players of all time — perhaps even a future world champion? For now, Bodhana is focused on her love of the game, but her accomplishments suggest she’s only just beginning to redefine what’s possible for women in chess.
