3 weeks ago
11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan becomes Britain's youngest Women's Chess Champion
An 11-year-old girl named Bodhana Sivanandan just became the youngest girl to ever win Britain's big chess championship for women.
Chess is a board game where two players carefully move pieces to capture each other's king.
Bodhana played in a huge tournament in the city of Coventry with more than 2,600 players.
During the whole tournament, she only lost one single game.
In the final tie-breaker, she beat a 14-year-old player from Ireland named Trisha Kanyamarala.
Before Bodhana, the youngest winner of this title was 13 years old.
Now Bodhana is also one of the top 100 women chess players in the whole world.
She won something called a triple crown, meaning she is champion in three different chess formats.
Grown-up chess experts call her a 'generational talent,' and people are amazed that someone so young can be so good.
Eleven-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan won the British Women's Chess Championship, becoming Britain's youngest-ever champion.
She defeated Ireland's 14-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala in a tense rapid-chess playoff in Coventry.
The tournament was the biggest in the event's 122-year history, with more than 2,600 entries at the University of Warwick.
Sivanandan lost only once, to 17-year-old overall champion Shreyas Royal, and surpassed records set by Elaine Pritchard and Akshaya Kalaiyalahan.
She now holds a triple crown as UK Open Women's Blitz Champion, joint British Women's Rapid Champion, and British Women's Champion.
- Who
- Bodhana Sivanandan, an 11-year-old British-Indian chess prodigy from north-west London
- What
- Won the British Women's Chess Championship, defeating 14-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala in a rapid-chess playoff to become Britain's youngest champion
- Where
- Coventry, at the University of Warwick
- When
- At the British Chess Championships, described as the biggest in the event's 122-year history (exact dates not given in the article)
- Why
- She lost only once during the tournament and beat a highly regarded challenger in the playoff, capping a rapid rise in British chess
Key facts
- Champion
- Bodhana Sivanandan, aged 11
- Playoff opponent
- Trisha Kanyamarala, 14, of Ireland
- Venue
- University of Warwick, Coventry
- Overall British Champion
- Shreyas Royal, aged 17
- Previous record holders
- Elaine Pritchard (1939, aged 13); Akshaya Kalaiyalahan (2013)
- Tournament size
- Over 2,600 entries, largest in 122-year history
- Notable performance
- Beat Grandmaster Ameet Ghasi with 99% accuracy
Quotes
Grandmaster Danny Gormally
Commentator for the English Chess Federation
“"generational talent"”
firstpost.com




