Latest news with #Sivanandan
Time of India
7 hours 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!
The Hindu
16 hours ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Bodhana Sivanandan becomes youngest female chess player to defeat a Grandmaster
British chess player Bodhana Sivanandan became the youngest female player to defeat a Grandmaster at the British Chess Championships in Liverpool on Sunday. Sivanandan defeated 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells to achieve the feat. The youngster, who is a Women's FIDE Master, was ten years, five months, and one day when she broke the record. 🇬🇧♟👏 British sensation Bodhana Sivanandan has made history by becoming the youngest female chess player ever to beat a grandmaster! The 10-year-old, from Harrow, pulled off the win on Sunday against 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British… — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 11, 2025 She also picked up her first Woman Grand Master (WGM) norm during the competition. Sivanandan claimed the record from American Carissa Yip, who was 10 years, 11 months and 20 days when she set the record in 2019. Victory in the event was also earned her a third norm to secure a Woman International Master (WIM), making her the youngest to do so. Related Topics FIDE
The Star
04-08-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Fair play to the fore: Evolving scoring methods in golf
The weather is hot, but tensions at the clubhouse – where a junior golf tournament is underway – may be rising faster than the temperature. Disputes usually begin when one player claims their opponent took more strokes to complete a hole than recorded. With scores still tracked by hand, there's little evidence to settle the matter – just memory and scribbled numbers on a piece of paper. Parents then might chime in to defend their child's performance. For Sivanandan Chinnadurai, executive director of the non-profit organisation Foundation of Malaysian Sporting Excellence or SportExcel, such a scenario is not uncommon. Bear in mind, he adds, that a junior golf tournament has many different categories. Players in the younger categories of between six to eight years old may face difficulties scoring on their own so parents could step in to help mark their score cards. Based on his own experience, CLL Systems software sales director K.K. Chong says some parents may intentionally mark scores in their child's favour, leading to inconsistencies. In the other categories, typically for players aged 12 and above, competitors are required to mark each other's scores to create a system of checks and balances. But even this isn't foolproof. 'Players sometimes return with scores that weren't recorded accurately often because they become less careful as the tournament progresses. We're talking about 18 holes over four hours,' Chong adds. Officials will have to handle the disagreement by asking players to retrace what happened on the hole, stroke by stroke and, if available, verify the account with on-ground markers or marshals stationed nearby. Real results in real time Sivanandan says parents and players are increasingly asking for a live scoring system, one that allows them to track performance in real time, rather than waiting until the end of the tournament for results. In 2024, Chong entered the discussion to help SportExcel find their solution. Within six months, his team built a Golf Management System (GMS) designed to tackle the longstanding issues tied to manual scoring. 'We introduced an online platform for players to immediately submit their score, either hole by hole or after a few holes, to a marker or officer and that person can update the scoring to display live results,' he says. Sivanandan (right), seen here with Chong, believes technology can also play a positive role by motivating players to improve and take their game more seriously. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star The results are then displayed on a screen at the clubhouse, giving waiting parents and officials real-time updates on players' performance as the game unfolds. They can also access updates through an online link. Scores are also tabulated instantly, eliminating long waiting times for results, though Sivanandan adds that final verification still lies with the tournament director. For each hole, players can input their score once and it cannot be changed. Measuring integrity Can technology help to prevent cheaters from prospering in sports? In 2019, a major high school golf cheating scandal – where players from different schools colluded to shave strokes off each other's scores – prompted an athletic association in the United States to do some soul-searching. It was later decided that players should start learning how to mark their scores in an app called iWanamaker so officials and the public can see the event progress in real time. This year, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced that the app has been widely adopted and used in over 75% of all high school golf tournaments in the US. In June, Reuters reported that the US Open showcased a Rules of Golf AI Avatar that users can interact with to ask questions about rules. For example, it was able to address a question about what to do when there's an alligator in the bunker where the ball has landed. A spokesperson said the technology aims to educate players on the rules leading to fair play and even helping to speed up the game. Raising the bar Sivanandan believes technology can also play a positive role by motivating players to improve and take their game more seriously. 'The system gives us a reliable record of each player's scores and it can also be accessed publicly. Coaches can refer back to this data as a starting point to better understand and train their players,' he says. Sivanandan adds that it also helps SportExcel to meet its objective to support young talent development in Malaysia through data to make more informed decisions. 'It will be useful for players who want to convince talent scouts that they are worthy of a sports scholarship. We are definitely elevating the local junior tournament to move forward and keep up with the times,' he adds.
The Hindu
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Denial of rice quota an act of political vendetta by Centre, says CPI in Kerala
The Union government's denial of Kerala's rightful allotment of rice and wheat during the Onam season is a deliberate act of vengeance against the people of the State, alleged Communist Party of India (CPI) district secretary K.G. Sivanandan. He was inaugurating a district-wide people's protest organised under the leadership of the CPI district council at Vellangallur on Wednesday. Calling it a calculated move by the BJP to impose an economic and political blockade on Kerala, Mr. Sivanandan said the attempt is aimed at fuelling anti-government sentiment in the State. 'The politically enlightened people of Kerala are not ones to forget such injustices easily. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the Centre in 2014 under Narendra Modi, Kerala has been consistently targeted,' he said. 'Kerala is not asking for charity, but for its rightful share,' he said. 'Essential food items like rice and wheat meant for the poor through the ration system are a matter of entitlement, not benevolence. The Union food and public distribution minister not only denied the allocation but went a step further by mocking the Kerala delegation's plea at a press conference immediately after receiving their representation.' He urged for widespread resistance against the Centre's move, which he said amounted to starving the people of Kerala during the Onam season. The CPI will remain at the forefront of this struggle, he said. The meeting was presided over by CPI local secretary Suresh Panikkassery. CPI leader C.N. Jayadevan addressed the protest in Manalur. K.K. Valsaraj (Guruvayur), V.S. Sunil Kumar (Thanniam), T.R. Ramesh Kumar (Kodannur), P. Balachandran, MLA, (Ollukkara), V.S. Prince (Amballur), K.P. Sandeep (East Anthikkad), Sheela Vijayakumar (Chazhoor), and Ragesh Kaniyamparambil (Vengidang) also led protests in various locations. V.R. Sunil Kumar, MLA, (Kodungallur) and K.S. Jaya (North Padiyoor) inaugurated the demonstrations in their respective constituencies. The CPI held torchlight processions and protest dharnas in over 100 locations across all constituencies in the district, as part of the coordinated mass agitation.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Violinist Nedumangad V. Sivanandan turns 90: A look at his life and music
Young V. Sivanandan completed a three-year course in Carnatic vocal from a prestigious institution in Thiruvananthapuram in 1954, when he decided to specialise in the violin. Virudhunagar Ganapathi Pillai took Sivanandan under his wings. The mentoring gifted a new exponent to the illustrious Kumbakonam style of violin-playing, which Ganapathi had learnt from Rajamanickam Pillai. Ganapathi , a staff-artiste in the All India Radio (AIR)-Thiruvananthapuram, initially started with weekly classes for Sivanandan. The boy would often walk 18 kilometres from his home in Nedumangad. 'No big deal,' says Sivanandan, now aged 90. 'I was familiar with such drills. My father used to take me to concerts in the city and we would walk.' Sivanandan's father, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan Pillai, was a harmonium master, keen to train his eight children in music, who either sang or played the veena or the mridangam. 'I chose the violin,' Sivanandan smiles. His father was his first tutor. 'At 12, I debuted for a harikatha at the local temple. I never had a formal arangetram. ' In his mid-teens, Sivanandan enrolled for the Gayaka course at the Swathi Thirunal College — those days known as The Music Academy (for 23 years since its inception in 1939). The faculty was stellar: Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, C.S. Krishna Iyer, K.R. Kumaraswamy, among others. 'My chief veena teacher, K.S. Narayanaswamy, found me promising. My first love, though, was the violin.' Sivanandan later trained under Ganapathi Pillai in a gurukula system. 'Tonal clarity and restraint are the traits he passed on to me. I gained a sense of proportion as an accompanist. If the vocalist's alapana spanned 10-minutes, my solo response would take around half that time,' says Sivanandan, who has a performance experience of over seven decades. To Sivanandan, practice holds the key to excellence. 'Even for violin geniuses such as M.S. Gopalakrishnan or Lalgudi Jayaraman,' he notes. 'I insist on my pupils to allot a decent amount of time for daily sadhakam; be punctual for classes and concerts. I used to once teach from dawn-to-dusk.' Sivanandan lives in Cherthala in the coastal Alappuzha district. 'Right from the beginning, I was flooded with invitations for kutcheris. There was a dearth of violinists in this region,' says Sivanandan, who rose steadily to accompany stalwarts, including Parassala Ponnammal, B.V. Raman-Lakshmanan, Bombay Sisters, Trichur V. Ramachandran, O.S. Thiagarajan, K. Omanakutty, Sudha Raghunathan, S. Jayashri and T.M. Krishna. For a long time, he was in the retinue of Neyyattinkara Vasudevan and K.J. Yesudas. Big or small, each concert 'serves a lesson'. He would wear a miniature violin that his guru gifted him on Sivanandan's 60th birthday. 'You learn something new even from a not-so-good kutcheri. This is one lesson I got from my teacher,' says this Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi awardee. Apart from music, Sivanandan loves reading. Though not a film buff, he donned the role of a violinist in the 2007 Malayalam film, Ananda Bhairavi. 'During my travels for concerts, I would always carry a book. I didn't mind even if it was children's literature.' Even today Sivanandan's hands move deftly along the strings of the violin. 'I follow a disciplined routine. I am particular about my diet. We get most of the vegetables from the garden in our backyard. We also grow several medicinal plants.' Sivanandan's daughter V. Sindhu teaches the violin at the Chembai Music College in Palakkad. 'Apart from my daughter and grandson Adarsh Dileep, I have several disciples, including Thiruvizha Sivanandan, Edappally Ajithkumar, Bindu K. Shenoy, Cherthala Sivakumar, Viju S. Anand and Manjoor Renjith. 'I am sure they will carry forward the bani,' says the veteran.
