Bodhana Sivanandan: 11-year-old chess prodigy is now a woman grandmaster

Chess prodigy meets middle school

Meet Bodhana Sivanandan. While most 11-year-olds are figuring out their locker combinations, the North London student is out here becoming the youngest-ever woman grandmaster in chess history. She secured the title this past weekend at the Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan, and lowkey, she had to play from a car booster seat just so she could reach the board.

By Tuesday morning, she was already back at her desk for a design and technology lesson. It’s giving humble genius. She’s been balancing international tournaments with, you know, being a kid and starting secondary school. Real talk, she’s taking it all in stride.

A meteoric rise

Bodhana’s path to the top hasn't been a fluke. Her dad, Sivanandan Velayutham, taught her the game when she was five. Within a year—with the help of some YouTube tutorials—she was already beating him. By age seven, she was crushing local club players; by eight, she’d defeated a former British champion.

She’s currently sitting at a 2,382 rating, smashing the 2,300-point requirement for the woman grandmaster title. If she keeps this momentum up and hits 2,500 points in the next 11 months, she’ll be the youngest grandmaster ever. Not that she's stressing about the timeline, though. "I want to become a grandmaster as soon as possible, but I’m doing it because I like it, not to just chase records," she said.

The strategy behind the success

She’s not just a product of modern computer tactics. Older players have been surprised by her classical positional sense, which is usually a sign of someone much older. She admits that sometimes her booster seat can psych out her opponents, but she keeps her cool.

When asked about past claims that men are biologically hardwired to be better at chess, she wasn't buying it: "By rating, yes men are better than women, but a woman could also achieve the same thing if they work hard enough, so I don’t agree fully."

Why it matters

Bodhana’s success is a W for the future of the game, and she’s doing it all without the "distraction" of social media—she doesn't even have a phone yet. She’s proof that with enough dedication and the right support, you can absolutely crush it regardless of your age. The girl is barely out of primary school and she’s already playing like a legend from the 1920s.