British chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has etched her name in the record books, becoming the youngest female player ever to defeat a grandmaster.
The 10-year-old from Harrow achieved the milestone on Sunday, toppling 60-year-old GM Peter Wells in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool.
At just 10 years, five months and three days, Bodhana broke the previous mark set in 2019 by American Carissa Yip, who was 10 years, 11 months and 20 days old when she claimed her first GM scalp.
Her journey began unexpectedly during the COVID-19 lockdown. At age five, she discovered chess after her father, Siva — originally from Tamil Nadu — brought home a discarded set a friend was planning to throw away. He intended to donate it to charity, but instead, it sparked a passion that would quickly grow into a remarkable talent.
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