10-year-old chess player from London becomes youngest holder of the title “woman international master”

A chess prodigy aged 10 from north-west London has achieved the distinction of being the youngest person to earn the woman international master title.

Bodhana Sivanandan, hailing from Harrow, also became the youngest female player to defeat a chess grandmaster at the 2025 British Chess Championship earlier this month.

In 2024, Bodhana was believed to have set the record as the youngest person ever to represent England internationally in any sport when she was chosen for the England Women’s Team at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary.

Her father, Siva, previously mentioned to the BBC that he was unaware of where his daughter acquired her talent since neither he nor his wife, both engineering graduates, excel at chess.

The International Chess Federation announced on its social media account on X that Bodhana "secured the win against 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool".

The federation further stated: "Sivanandan’s victory at 10 years, five months, and three days surpasses the 2019 record previously held by American Carissa Yip (10 years, 11 months, and 20 days)."

Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can achieve, and the rank is held for life.

Bodhana’s new title, woman international master, is the second highest-ranking title awarded exclusively to women, preceded only by woman grandmaster.

Bodhana first started playing chess during the Covid-19 pandemic.