A 10-year-old chess prodigy from north-west London has made history as the youngest person to earn the woman international master title. According to BBC News, Bodhana Sivanandan from Harrow also became the youngest female player to defeat a chess grandmaster at the 2025 British Chess Championship in Liverpool earlier this month.

Bodhana achieved the remarkable feat by beating 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the final round of the championship. The International Chess Federation confirmed her victory on its social media account, noting that she had set a new record at 10 years, five months and three days. This broke the previous record held by American Carissa Yip, who achieved the milestone at 10 years, 11 months and 20 days in 2019.

The woman international master title is the second-highest title given exclusively to women, ranking just below the woman grandmaster title. Grandmaster, the top title in chess, is open to all players and is held for life.

Bodhana first started playing chess at the age of five during the Covid-19 lockdown. She recalled that the game came into her life by chance when her father’s friend, returning to India, gave the family some toys and books. Among them was a chessboard, which first caught her attention because she liked the look of the pieces. Instead of using them as toys, her father encouraged her to learn the game, and from there her passion for chess grew.

In 2024, Bodhana was selected for the England women’s team at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary, making her one of the youngest athletes to represent the country in any sport. Her father, Siva, said there was no history of chess in their family. Neither he nor his wife, both engineering graduates, had any particular skill in the game, and he was surprised by his daughter’s rapid rise in the sport.

Bodhana says chess makes her feel good and helps her in other areas, such as mathematics and problem-solving. She hopes to one day become a grandmaster and possibly even the women’s world champion. Her calmness, modesty and extraordinary skill have impressed many in the chess world.

Malcolm Pein, an international chess master who runs a charity introducing chess to state school children, said Bodhana was blazing a trail for girls and women in a sport long dominated by men. He believes she could achieve great success, not only in women’s competitions but also against top male players.

Bodhana’s journey from playing with a chessboard as a curiosity to breaking national and world records has inspired many young players. Her story shows that talent can emerge unexpectedly and that with dedication, age need not be a barrier to achievement.

As she continues her training and gains more experience, chess enthusiasts around the world will be watching to see if she can reach her ultimate goal the grandmaster title.