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Bodhana Sivanandan, a ten-year-old chess prodigy from London, has become the youngest-ever Woman International Master (WIM), achieving a milestone that cements her status as one of the world’s most promising players. Despite still needing a booster seat to see the chessboard, the fifth grader has stunned the chess world with her rapid rise and remarkable achievements.

Sivanandan discovered chess during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and quickly fell in love with the game. “I love to play chess because it helps me recognize patterns, focus my attention, and learn how to strategise and calculate moves,” she said in 2022. Her talent was recognized early, with chess columnist Leonard Barden calling her 'exceptional' after she won silver medals in both rapid and blitz European under-8 girls’ championships just 15 months after picking up the game.

Her early career has been nothing short of spectacular. At the 2022 European Schools Championships in Rhodes, she won all 24 games she played, taking home three gold medals. The same year, she competed at the British Chess Championship in Torquay, where she impressed by defeating the reigning U12 champion before narrowly losing to grandmaster Keith Arkell, who credited his victory to her 'inexperience.'

Sivanandan continued to shatter records. In 2023, she defeated former British chess champion Peter Lee in an exhibition match and scored 8.5/13 at the European Blitz Chess Championship, claiming the under-12 and women’s prizes. In 2024, she became a Woman FIDE Master and the world’s top-ranked under-10 girl, later earning selection for England’s women’s team at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest — the youngest person ever to be chosen for a full England team in any sport.

In July 2025, at just ten years old, she became the youngest player in history to earn a Woman Grandmaster norm, surpassing Hou Yifan’s record. A month later, she defeated grandmaster Peter Wells at the British Chess Championship, becoming the youngest girl to ever defeat a GM and securing her final norm to claim the Woman International Master title.

Living in Harrow, London, Sivanandan’s journey continues to inspire young chess players worldwide. Experts like International Master Lawrence Trent believe she could go on to become one of the greatest players in history.