Bodhana Sivanandan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bodhana Sivanandan

• Bodhana Sivanandan was born in London, England.

• Bodhana’s family originally hails from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. They lived there until her father, Sivanandan Velayutham, who works in the IT sector, moved the family to London in 2007.

• Sivanandan started playing chess at the age of 5 during the COVID-19 lockdown. In an interview, her father mentioned that they had no plans to make her play chess. She just stumbled across a chessboard at home and started to play.

• Her father, who only knew basic chess, downloaded Chess.com to help her learn by watching videos. In an interview, her father mentioned that at that time, he opted for the free version, thinking she might not pursue the sport further.

  

• After learning the game, she began competing in local tournaments. In an interview, she said,

I really liked the pieces, especially the knight and the queen, and I wanted to use them as toys. But my dad told me that I couldn’t because then the next person who got it couldn’t play,”

• In March 2022, just over a year after learning chess, she won silver medals in both rapid and blitz at the European School Championships, quickly becoming the world’s No. 1 blitz player in the under-8 girls’ category.

  

• In May 2022, at the European Schools Chess Championship in Rhodes, Sivanandan won all 24 games she played across different formats and won three gold medals.

• In 2023, she was part of a group of young chess enthusiasts invited by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to 10 Downing Street to celebrate the government’s major new £1 million investment package for the game.

  

• In December 2023, at the European Blitz Championship in Zagreb, Bodhana Sivanandan scored 8.5 out of 13, defeated titled players, drew with a grandmaster, and won the women’s prize despite being only eight years old.

• In early 2024, Bodhana crossed a 2000 live rating, achieving the third-highest ever FIDE rating for an eight-year-old.

• Sivanandan was the youngest athlete chosen to represent England in any sport at the international level in 2024. She competed in the Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary, alongside teammates who were all in their 20s, 30s, or 40s.

• In July 2025, at the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence, France, Bodhana Sivanandan earned her first Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm with a performance rating of 2401. After the win, she became the youngest player ever to achieve a WGM norm.

• In August 2025, Bodhana Sivanandan made history by defeating Grandmaster Peter Wells in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool. She became the youngest-ever female chess player in history to defeat a grandmaster.

• Bodhana set a new record at the age of 10 years, 5 months, and 3 days, surpassing the previous record held by American Carissa Yip. Yip was 10 years and 11 months old when she defeated a grandmaster for the first time in 2019.

• After her victory, Sivanandan was awarded with Woman International Master title, which is the second-highest title given exclusively to women, after Woman Grandmaster.

  

• Bodhana Sivanandan is an ambassador for ChessKid.com. She has appeared in a viral 2023 video with 79-year-old former British chess champion Peter Lee in a show.

  

• In an interview, Sivanadan mentioned that she often carries a cushioned seat with her to sit comfortably on a chair so that she can reach the other side of the board during a match.

• Bodhana Sivanandan also learnt to play the piano and violin. Although she focused only on chess.