10-Year-Old Chess Prodigy Makes History

Bodana Sivanandan, a remarkable 10-year-old chess player from London, caught the public’s attention this summer when she became the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster. Just recently, she hit another significant milestone in her budding career.

Sivanandan, often referred to as “Girl Wonder,” triumphed over former women’s world champion Marija Muzychuk in the opening round of the European Chess Club Cup held in Greece on Sunday. Many experts hailed her victory as “an almost perfect match.”

Grandmaster David Howell took to social media to commend Sivanandan’s achievement, noting, “It’s not every day that a 10-year-old wins a game against a grandmaster, let alone in such style.” That’s quite something, right?

While Sivanandan expressed happiness about her win, she mentioned to the press that she aims for even more victories in the future. “I’m happy to win, but I hope to do even better in the upcoming matches,” she said, adding that this success would motivate her to work harder.

This summer was particularly groundbreaking for Sivanandan, as she made history by defeating 60-year-old grandmaster Peter Wells during the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championship in August. By doing so, she broke the previous record set by American Carissa Yip in 2019, which was held at 10 years, 11 months, and 20 days.

Having started playing chess at the age of five during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sivanandan has quickly risen through the ranks. Now, at just 10 years, five months, and three days old, she is already making a name for herself in the chess world.