10-year-old girl became the youngest female international champion in chess

A 10-year-old girl became just the youngest person ever won Woman International Master Title in chess.

Bodhana Sivanandan, from London, took the title on Sunday, August 10, at a tournament in Liverpool, England, the International Chess Federation announced the X.

“British sensation Bodhana Sivanandan has made history by becoming the youngest woman Chess player ever to beat a Grand Master! “The Federation wrote in his service.

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They added that Bodhana “pulled off the victory” after she beat “60-year-old Grand Master Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British chess championships.”

Grandmaster is the highest title A chess player can achieve and rank is held for life. Bodhana’s new title, Woman International Master, is the second highest title for women, and it’s just second for female Grand Master, according to BBC.

Bodhana’s victory at ten years, five months and three days encountered the previous record in 2019, held by American player Carissa Yip after 10 years, 11 months and 20 days.

As for where Bodhana got her Epic chess skills? Her father says it’s a mystery.

“I’m an engineering degree, like my wife, but I’m not good at chess,” he said before BBC. “I tried a couple of league matches, but I was very bad.”

Bodhana started playing the game during the pandemic when one of her father’s friends left a bag with his possessions at home before moving to India – and one of the items he left was a chessboard, the outlet reported.

“I was interested in the pieces so I started playing,” she told the BBC and added to play chess makes her feel “good” and helps her with “lots of other things like math, how to calculate.”

Bodhana usually exercises chess for about an hour after school and also plays in tournaments on weekends to keep their skills sharp, the outlet reported.

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While attending Trafalgar Square’s Chessfest in London in July 2024, Bodhana told BBC that she is usually not intimidated by her opponents, even though many of them are old enough to be Her grandparents.

“I don’t really notice who I’m playing. I’m just playing the board,” she said at that time.

“My advice to those who want to learn is that if you lose a game, you should try to learn from it,” she added.