Eleven-Year-Old Bodhana Sivanandan Becomes England's Top Female Chess Player

Eleven-year-old Indian-origin prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan became England's top-rated female player.

“✕ Home News Analysis Agro-Forestry Art & Culture Technology Economy & Business Education Energy & Extractives Politics Law & Governance Health Science & Environment Social & Gender Sports Transport Urban Development WASH Research LogIn/SignUp Close the sidebar Bodhana Sivanandan: England's Rising Chess Prodigy Indian-origin chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan, aged 11, has become England's top-rated female chess player with 2366 FIDE points”

Devdiscourse

She overtook four-time British women's champion Lan Yao to reach the pinnacle of English chess with a rating of 2366.

DT Next

She broke into the world's top 100 women, ranked 72nd.

She took up the game during the 2020 lockdown after finding a chessboard her father intended to donate to charity.

Bodhana holds the Woman International Master title awarded in 2025 and recently earned the FIDE Master title.

She outwitted Ukraine’s former world champion at the European Club Cup.

ET Now

Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated her on X, recalling a game they played at Downing Street.

She is still a primary school student, balancing elite sport and education.

Public reaction mixed admiration for Bodhana's talent with acknowledgment of her youth.

“11-year-old Chess prodigy, Bodhana Sivanandan, who has Indian roots, has emerged as England's top-rated female player, according to the latest rating list of the International Chess Federation (FIDE)”

ET Now

Coverage emphasized different facets of her story.

Her rise challenges assumptions about age and gender in competitive chess.

The question is how she manages the increasing spotlight.