Eight-year-old Brit Bodhana Sivanandan makes chess history
Sivanandan has been described as a 'phenomenon' by chess masters
Bodhana Sivanandan, an eight-year-old girl, created history in the world of chess after she won the first prize in the European Blitz Chess Championship with a remarkable 8.5/13 score. She defeated several grandmasters during the tournament.
Bodhana is a primary school student from Harrow, England. In the penultimate round, she defeated an international master, Lorin D’Costa, the coach of England’s women’s chess team. The European Blitz Chess Championship had a massive registration number of 555, including 48 grandmasters and 50 international masters who participated.
However, the chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan made history as she clinched the title of England’s first world youth champion in 25 years. She also won the triple crown, classical, rapid, and blitz.
The European Chess Union congratulated her for winning the first women’s prize in the European Blitz Chess Championship, earning 211.2 blitz ELO points. She also won the best women’s player award.
Bodhana Sivanandan started playing chess when she was five years old, reported BBC. After her “unbelievable” performance, the chess prodigy said she was “proud” of it. “I always try my best to win. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. I was very proud of myself when I got top girl in the European Blitz” Speaking further Bodhana said she doesn’t get nervous and “just plays the board.”
Her current title is Woman Candidate Master. In an interview with Today, Bodhana’s father, Sivanandan Velayutham, said, “Accidentally she started chess. She was curious, so I started taking her around the English Chess Federation and the people in England who play chess and support chess; they are very friendly and very supportive.”
This summer the British PM Rishi Sunak also invited her to 10 Downing Street and played chess with her.
Praises For Bodhana Sivanandan
Bodhana’s outstanding performance has received a lot of praise from the Chess world.
Romanian International Master Irina Bulmaga posting on X wrote, “Unbelievable result by 8 yo girl- Bodhana, who held a draw in the last round of the European Blitz Championship to score 8,5p/ 13, winning the 1st prize among women ahead of me and a bunch of other experienced players! What a phenomenon she is!”
British International Master and commentator Lawrence Trent also took to X and wrote, “Bodhana Sivanandan is one of the greatest talents I’ve witnessed in recent memory. The maturity of her play, her sublime touch, it’s truly breathtaking. I have no doubt she will be England’s greatest player and most likely one of the greatest the game has ever seen.”
President of the English Chess Federation, Dominic Lawson, described her victory as an “extraordinary result for an eight-year-old and something we’ve certainly never seen in this country.”
“She has a remarkably mature playing style, it’s strategic and patient. She has what you might describe as a long game,” he added.