London Chess Prodigy, 10, Becomes Youngest Woman International Master

Ten-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan from Harrow, north-west London, has become the youngest person to earn the Woman International Master (WIM) title, after a historic win at the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool.

The chess prodigy achieved the milestone on August 14 by defeating 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the tournament’s final round. At 10 years, five months and three days, she surpassed the previous record for youngest female to beat a grandmaster, set in 2019 by American Carissa Yip at 10 years, 11 months, and 20 days.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) confirmed the record on its official social media channels, calling Sivanandan’s victory “remarkable” and “a historic moment for the sport.” The WIM title is the second-highest competitive title awarded exclusively to women, ranking just below Woman Grandmaster (WGM).

From Lockdown Hobby to International Breakthrough

Sivanandan’s journey began during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, when she was five. A family friend leaving for India left behind a bag of books and toys, among which was a chessboard.

Her rapid improvement stunned her family—neither of her parents, both engineering graduates, had any background in chess. “Nobody at all in our family played chess at any competitive level,” her father, Siva, told the BBC.

By age eight, Sivanandan had already made waves in junior competitions, winning multiple gold medals at youth championships. In 2023, she claimed the best woman player prize at the European Rapid & Blitz Championship, defeating several titled players.

In 2024, she became the youngest person ever to represent England in any sport when she joined the England Women’s Team at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary.

Breaking Records and Raising Expectations

This year has seen a string of milestones for Sivanandan. Earlier in 2025, she secured her first Woman Grandmaster norm at a competition in Aix-en-Provence, France, marking her as one of the youngest players in history to attain the milestone.

Her latest triumph in Liverpool has attracted widespread praise from the chess community. International Master Malcolm Pein, who runs a charity that has introduced chess to hundreds of thousands of UK schoolchildren, described her as “composed, modest, and absolutely brilliant.” He believes she has the potential to become not just women’s world champion but possibly the overall world champion.

For Bodhana, the game is both a passion and a learning tool. “It makes me feel good and helps with maths, how to calculate,” she said in an interview.

An Inspiration for the Next Generation

Sivanandan’s rapid rise is also being hailed as a breakthrough for female participation in chess, a field still dominated by men at the highest levels. Pein notes that her success could inspire more girls to take up the game competitively.

Her victory over Wells in Liverpool not only cemented her place in chess history but also signaled the arrival of a new generation of talent capable of competing—and winning—against the best.

As she continues to train and compete internationally, Bodhana Sivanandan’s journey is likely to be closely followed by fans, experts, and aspiring players worldwide.

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