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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Meet Bodhana Sivanandan: 10-year-old becomes youngest female to beat a chess grandmaster
Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old chess player from Harrow, has become the youngest girl to beat a grandmaster. On Sunday, she defeated 60-year-old GM Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool. Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old, also earned her first Woman Grandmaster norm in the event. (X/@SusanPolgar) At 10 years, five months, and three days old, she broke the record set in 2019 by American Carissa Yip, who was 10 years, 11 months, and 20 days when she scored her first grandmaster win. 'How on earth did she win this? She must be some kind of magician,' GM Danny Gormally said while commentating for the English Chess Federation broadcast. She also earned praise from chess legend Susan Polgar. Bodhana Sivanandan, youngest girl to defeat a GM Polgar wrote on X, 'Bodhana Sivanandan became the youngest girl to defeat a GM at just 10 years, 5 months, and 3 days in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships! The previous record was held by IM Carissa Yip.' Also Read: D Gukesh feels 'people are more motivated to play against' him due to World C'ship title: 'I felt this pressure of…' Bodhana also earned her first Woman Grandmaster norm in the event. The win gave her the third norm needed for the Woman International Master title, making her the youngest player ever to achieve it. 'By beating a GM in the final round, she also earned her final WIM norm and became a WIM at 10! Double congratulations,' Polgar added. A Woman FIDE Master, Bodhana, has family roots in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. Her father, IT professional Sivanandan Velayutham, moved the family to London in 2007. Born and raised in the city, she has become one of the most prominent faces in British chess. Bodhana Sivanandan was invited by Rishi Sunak In August 2023, at eight years old, she was invited to 10 Downing Street by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was announcing a funding plan to support chess in the UK. Bodhana told the BBC last year that she started playing chess at age five during the COVID-19 lockdown. A friend of her father had given them a chess set along with other toys and games before returning to India, she said. 'I wanted to use the pieces as toys,' Bodhana said. 'But my dad told me I could play the game, and that's how I started.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
10-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan shocks Grandmaster, sets historic chess record
Bodhana Sivanandan (Yuri Krylov / @ecfchess) British chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has etched her name in history, becoming the youngest female player ever to defeat a grandmaster. The 10-year-old from Harrow achieved the remarkable feat on Sunday, toppling 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! At just 10 years, five months and three days, Sivanandan broke the previous record set in 2019 by American Carissa Yip, who was 10 years, 11 months and 20 days old when she claimed her first grandmaster scalp. "How on earth did she win this? She must be some kind of magician," GM Danny Gormally said while commentating for the English Chess Federation broadcast. She also received high praise from legendary chess player Susan Polgar. "Bodhana Sivanandan became the youngest girl to defeat a GM at just 10 years, 5 months and 3 days in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships! The previous record was held by IM Carissa Yip," Polgar wrote on X. Sivanandan also secured her maiden Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm during the tournament. Her triumph in the event earned her the third norm required to seal the Woman International Master (WIM) title, making her the youngest player ever to achieve it. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like TV providers are furious: this gadget gives you access to all channels Techno Mag Learn More Undo "According to several chess news sites, by beating a GM in the final round, she also earned her final WIM norm and became a WIM at 10! Double congratulations," Polgar added. Bodhana, a Woman FIDE Master, has her roots in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, where her family lived until 2007, when her father, IT professional Sivanandan Velayutham, relocated to London. Poll What do you think about Bodhana Sivanandan's achievement in chess? Incredible and inspiring Impressive for her age Not that surprising I don't follow chess Born and raised in the UK capital, she has quickly emerged as the face of British chess despite her tender age. In August 2023, at just eight years old, Bodhana was invited to 10 Downing Street by then–Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was set to announce a financial package to support chess in the UK. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Bodhana Sivanandan, Indian-origin phenom from England, sets record as youngest girl to beat a grandmaster
Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old British girl with Indian roots, made history on Sunday when she defeated Grandmaster Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool, thus becoming the youngest-ever female chess player in history to defeat a grandmaster. Bodhana set the record at the age of 10 years, five months and three days to beat the record held by American Carissa Yip since 2019, who was also 10 when she defeated her first grandmaster. Bodhana, a Woman FIDE Master, traces her roots to Tamil Nadu's Trichy, where her family lived until her father, Sivanandan Velayutham, who works in the IT sector, moved them to London in 2007. Bodhana was born and brought up in London and despite her young age, she has already become the face of British chess. At the age of eight, she was even invited to 10 Downing Street in August 2023 by then British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when he was planning to announce a financial package for chess in the UK. Chess for Bodhana happened almost by accident. 'Bodhana started playing chess when she was just five years old. We had no plans to make her play chess. She just stumbled across a chess board at home, and started to play,' Bodhana's father Sivanandan Velayutham had told The Indian Express last year. 'I knew just basic chess, so I downloaded to help her learn by watching the videos there. Back then, I just got her a free version, thinking she might not continue the sport,' he said. Sivanandan was mistaken. Bodhana has spent the last few years making headlines and breaking records. She's already won three world junior titles. Yet, her victory over the 60-year-old Wells caused a flutter in British chess circles. After all, Wells is still an active chess player, and Bodhana's title of Woman FIDE Master is at least five rungs below the grandmaster title, the ultimate title in chess. The event helped her earn the final 'norm' she needed to take one step up and acquire the Women's International Master title. Bodhana's victory also came as a bit of a shock because she was in trouble in the middle game against a player of Wells' experience. By the 19th move, dark clouds of trouble hovered over her pieces as both of Wells' menacing knights started advancing towards her king. By the 26th move, she was staring at defeat. After a brief respite, she was again fighting a losing cause on move 37. But it took just three moves — a careless knight hop from Wells ( an aggressive rook maneuver from Bodhana threatening the black king ( and finally an ill-advised side shuffle from the queen ( — to overturn the entire game and led to Wells resigning. 'How on earth did she win this? She must be some kind of magician!' Danny Gormally, the English Chess Federation's expert commentator, reportedly remarked during the live broadcast stream. Bodhana gained 24 rating points during the event and finished joint 26th in the open event, which was remarkable for her age. She could have chosen to play in the age group events and easily swept the titles in her categories like U12. 'She likes to play simple positional moves… very solid player. But she tends to outplay her opponents later in the game. There's a touch of Magnus Carlsen or the great Jose Raul Capablanca about her play,' Gormally said in commentary. Unsurprisingly, Capablanca is one of her favourite players, while Carlsen, who has become a reference point for most young prodigies, only gets mentioned third in her list of favourites. 'I really like Capablanca because of his end games,' she had told The Indian Express last year. 'I also like Judit Polgar and Carlsen.' When asked what she likes about chess, Bodhana, who keeps her replies short and to the point, said: 'I really like that it activates your brain and that it involves strategy and calculation.' Unlike other kids from India, who single-mindedly dedicate themselves to the pursuit of chess, education is a big part of Bodhana's daily routine. She also learnt to play the piano and violin a couple of years ago. But for now, chess has a hold on her imagination. 'I like chess more than playing the piano and violin because there's no grading in piano and in chess you can keep improving,' she said. 'Bodhana is an inspiration to girls. The way she exudes calmness and maturity on the board,' said FM Tim Wall, English Chess Federation's Director of Junior Chess, who oversees the age group categories for the national federation. 'She clearly has a very strong work ethic. She certainly has a very high ceiling.' Wall prophesizes that Bodhana can become a grandmaster 'in three to four years.' If that prophecy comes true, that would be a rapid rise even by chess' lightning-fast standards, where there have been grandmasters at the age of 12. Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. ... Read More
United News of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- United News of India
Michael Adams wins his ninth British Chess Championship
Liverpool, Aug 10(UNI) Michael Adams, the king of British chess, won his ninth national title today in a sensational three-way playoff finish to the 111th British Chess Championships in Liverpool. The 53-year-old Cornishman, nicknamed 'The Spider', showed all his class to win the rapidplay tiebreaker ahead of International Master Peter Roberson and Grandmaster Stuart Conquest, the 2008 champion. All three had tied on 7/9 during the regular nine-round championship at Liverpool's magnificent St George's Hall. Adams, who led throughout, takes home £5,000 and the British Crown Trophy he first won in 1989 from the English Chess Federation organised event. Meanwhile, Lan Yao and Elmira Mirzoeva, both WGM title holders, were crowned joint 2025 British Women's champions. Lan drew in the final-round while Mirzoeva won to finish level on 6/9. It was Lan's fourth title in a row and Mirzoeva's first. Roberson and Conquest, the winner the last time the British was in Liverpool 17 years ago, both had an incredible championships. The playoff format dictated Roberson and Conquest fight it out for the right to play Adams over two 10+5 games. The 58-year-old Conquest, affectionately known as 'The Fox', rolled back the years to emerge with a 2-0 win and get a chance to take the crown. But, in a battle of the golden oldies, the overwhelming favourite Adams was too strong and claimed the 2025 title. Adams is now behind only Jonathan Penrose, who won 10 titles between 1958 and 1969, in the all-time list of British champions. More than 1,000 chess players from across the UK, including the best of Britain's grandmasters and child prodigies, had descended on Liverpool to take part in a series of tournaments and wider chess events held over nine days. The final round of the elite nine-round Swiss championship started on Sunday with six players locked on 6/8. Any one of three grandmasters in Adams, Nikita Vitiugov and Conquest plus three International Masters in Roberson, Richard Pert and the Pole Maciej Czopor could have gone on to win. It was tense. First, Roberson downed Pert to go ahead before Adams won his final game to force a playoff with a trademark grinding win over Czopor. Conquest, who was in also fine form throughout, then won his place in the playoff by sensationally downing England's current number-one Vitiugov. 'I don't think we've seen the best yet of Vitiugov, I'm pretty certain of that,' Gormally said. 'He will national titles, there's no question about it. He wasn't at his best in this tournament.' Shreyas Royal, England's youngest ever grandmaster, had challenged until the eighth round when a loss to Conquest ended his chances. The 16-year-old was then beaten at the last by 22-year-old International Master Jonah Willow. However, Royal's strong showing demonstrated his time will come. Another youngster who put in an impressive show was 11-year-old Supratit Banerjee who finished on 6/9 having beaten two grandmasters and sealed his first IM norm. Gormally tipped the youngster as a shoe-in for a future British champion. Gormally also heralded the performance of 10-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan who turned around a losing position in the final round to beat the experienced Grandmaster Peter Wells. UNI RKM
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Women's chess takes centre stage with World and European titles up for grabs
Women's chess takes centre stage this week. In Shanghai and Chongqing, there is an all-Chinese 12-game match for the women's world crown between Ju Wenjun, 34, the holder, and Tan Zhongyi, 33, the challenger. The pair are closely matched on ratings (2561 to 2555) and level on head-to-head. The prize money pool is $500,000. Thursday's game one, with Ju playing White in a Sicilian Defence, was a routine draw by threefold repetition in 39 moves. There is live commentary from 7am BST each day from the all-time No 1, Judit Polgar, and England's popular Jovanka Houska on YouTube. Saturday is a rest day, game three (of 12) is on Sunday. Ju and Tan are effectively playing a rematch, as Ju won her first world crown in 2017, qualifying to challenge reigning champion Tan and then defeating her in the title series. Next, Ju successfully defended her title in a 64-player knockout in 2018. Since then, after Fide changed the system for deciding the challenger, Ju has won championship matches against Russia's Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, and against her compatriot Lei Tingjie in 2023. The women's world title was launched in 1927, and its first 17 years were dominated by Vera Menchik, who won every championship tournament and match between 1927 and 1939 by wide margins, outclassing her rivals. Menchik spent most of her life in London, and was tragically killed at age 38 by a German V1 bomb which hit her Clapham home in 1944. There have since been 10 memorial tournaments in her honour, the latest just two weeks ago. From 1950 to 1991 Soviet players monopolised the event, led by the Georgians Nona Gaprindashvili and Maia Chiburdanidze, both of whom also scored notable successes against male grandmasters. Gaprindashvili's shared victory at Lone Pine 1977 was among her best achievements. From 1991 onwards has been the Chinese era, with 15 of the last 20 champions, led by the all-time No 2 woman, Hou Yifan. However, Hungary's Polgar, the only woman to play in an open world championship tournament, never competed for the women's title. Ju has successfully defended her crown three times already, so will be the favourite against Tan. Her creditable results against male grandmasters, particularly at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee 2024 where she beat Alireza Firouzja and drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi, Gukesh Dommaraju and Ding Liren, show that she ranks among the all-time top six or top 10 women. The European Women's Championship is currently under way in Rhodes, Greece, with a prize fund of €60,000, and qualifying 10 players for the Women's World Cup. England is fielding six players, the three-time British women's champion Lan Yao and five schoolgirls. The English Chess Federation international director, Malcolm Pein, explained that as it was the last participation financed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's £500,000 grant for English elite chess, which has been terminated this week, he decided to use it to support future talents. Lan won an impressive game in round one, showcasing the power of a queen and rooks on open attacking lines, but lost to the Netherlands star Eline Roebers in round three. Meanwhile, BBC Two's programme Chess Masters: The Endgame reached its fourth episode (of eight) at 8pm on Monday. Viewing figures, supplied by Broadcast, have stabilised. Numbers are marginally up, from 655,000 to 660,000, representing 5.4% of the viewing audience against 5.0% the previous week. The Magnus Carlsen memory test in episode three will be repeated for the new contestants in episode six. Carlsen takes on The World on Friday, a repeat of historic challenges by Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand in which up to 70,000 players participated. It will be Freestyle Chess at one move a day. The game starts at 11am BST. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion You need to be a member of to vote for The World's moves. The game is open to all free and premium members and a free account can be made here. The website currently has 71,000 players signed up, but anticipates hitting the system limit of 100,000 opponents before the game starts. Matthew Wadsworth qualified as a grandmaster last weekend, when the Cambridge economics graduate, 24, shared first prize with 7/9 at Bad Wörishofen, Germany. He is England's third new GM in the last 12 months, following on from Ameet Ghasi and Shreyas Royal. Wadsworth already had the three required GM norms, but still needed to improve his Fide international rating from 2491 to 2500. He had a setback in round seven (of nine) when he lost to the Armenian top seed, so rounds eight and nine became must-wins. After winning both, his rating jumped to 2499.9 which Fide's newly published April rating list has rounded up to 2500. To replay Wadsworth's decisive game, go to the menu at the extreme right below the board, scroll down, and click fast or slow replay mode as preferred. Click the symbol at the right of h8 for the game with computer analysis. White's 24 b4! gave Wadsworth a clear advantage, although the later error 36 Kh1? gave Black a missed chance to get back into the game with 36…Nxe4! 3966: 1…Ng6! with the main line 2 fxg6 (other moves also lose) Bxh3+! 3 Kxh3 Qh5+! 4 Kg2 Qh2+ 5 Kf1 g2+ 6 Kf2 g1=Q mate.
