Indian-origin chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has become England’s top-rated female player, according to the latest rankings released by the International Chess Federation. The 11-year-old, whose parents moved from Tiruchirappalli to England in 2007, currently holds a FIDE rating of 2366.
The North London-based primary school student has surpassed four-time British women’s champion Lan Yao, 25, to claim the top spot among women in England.
With this achievement, Sivanandan has also entered the world’s top 100 female players for the first time, currently ranked 72nd, according to a statement from the English Chess Federation.
“It is an extraordinary rise for a Harrow schoolgirl who took up the game during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown after discovering a chessboard her father had planned to throw away,” the statement noted.
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Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated Sivanandan and recalled a game he once played with her at his official residence. “Congratulations to Bodhana Sivanandan on becoming England’s top female chess player at just 11. We once played in the Downing Street garden—her success comes as no surprise,” he wrote on X.
Sivanandan earned the Woman International Master title last year and has continued to impress on the global stage. She notably defeated Ukraine’s former world champion, Grandmaster Mariya Muzychuk, at the European Club Cup in Rhodes, Greece.
Richard Walsh, CEO of the English Chess Federation, praised her rapid rise, calling her a trailblazer for women and girls in chess as well as one of the most prodigious talents in English sport.
“We are excited to see what she achieves next. Bodhana and her family have worked incredibly hard, and she is now competing at the highest level, proudly representing England,” he said.
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